The bodies of four people believed to be known to one another have been found at a property in a new housing estate near Norwich.
Norfolk Police said officers were called to Allan Bedford Crescent in Queen’s Hills, Costessey, six miles north-west of Norwich town centre, shortly before 7am.
After forcing entry into a property, police found four bodies inside and established a cordon.
Forensic investigations are being carried out at the scene, where photographs show a white and blue evidence tent erected outside a property on the estate.
Cllr Gary Blundell, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the area, told MailOnline the entire community was in ‘shock’.
‘I’m in shock, my wife is in shock, it’s a very sad incident,’ he said.
‘What we’re trying to do is get support in place for people that are going to need it, maybe in a community centre or the school, for anyone that needs it.
‘That will be arranged with the police and South Norfolk Council; we have community champions that come out to sit and listen to people, whatever they need. The vicar may come out as well.
‘We never thought something like this would happen in Queen’s Hills. It’s such a close-knit community, everybody knows everybody, and we all get on and come together when there’s an issue.
‘You hear of things like this happening in other places – not in our little rural town. You don’t expect it at all.’
Locals told the Eastern Daily Press that a knife had been found in a wooded area close to the house; police have not said whether it is linked to the incident.
They also said a man living in the house was reported missing just before Christmas, with a drone seen circling the area at the time. He was reportedly later found walking on an adjacent road, Fairway.
A resident said police were not allowing locals to leave their homes, BBC News reports.
They said: ‘The road has been sealed off with police tape and you can’t get down there.
‘I spoke with the officers at the cordon and they said it was likely to be there for most of the day but they would not tell me anything more than that.’
A 32-year-old man who lives on a neighbouring street said he saw the cordon at around 8am.
‘This is a very quiet neighbourhood and I’ve never seen anything like this before here,’ he told the Norwich Evening News.
‘This is something like you see on the TV I suppose, so it seems all quite surreal.’
Another local said online: ‘Oh my goodness. This is awful. We used to live on this estate, it’s heartbreaking.’
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess, from the Major Investigation Team, said: ‘Our investigation is in the very early stages and this is clearly a very distressing and tragic incident.
‘While we’re following a number of lines of enquiry, at this time we believe this is an isolated incident.
‘I understand that news of this incident will be shocking to the local community and as soon as we can we will release more information.’
Officers had earlier described being called to the estate to attend a ‘serious incident’.
