A French farmer has been accused of shooting dead a man he thought was trying to steal valuable truffles on his land.

The 32-year-old told police he was guarding his truffle patch in the town of Grignan when he took fright after seeing the intruder, and shot him in the legs and head with a hunting rifle.

Police said the farmer believed the man was armed. The 43-year-old victim died shortly after the shooting on Monday on the edge of France’s Provence region.

Nicknamed “diamonds of the kitchen,” truffles are a fungus that mainly grows in forests in France and Italy.

They are prized for their heady fragrance and rich, earthy flavours, and can fetch huge prices.