Police in a Louisiana town used a siren that sounded terrifyingly similar to the one used in dystopian slasher film The Purge to enforce coronavirus lockdown.

Residents of Crowley were left quaking when the siren was blared out by squad cars, which can be heard in a video obtained by local station KATC.

In the film and TV series of the same name, this particular noise indicates the start of an annual event, which sees all crime – including murder and assault – become legal for 12 hours.

Officials working for the Louisiana police force have since been made aware of the similarities, and claimed they had no idea the noise was linked to the horror franchise.

They have promised that the siren will no longer be played to signal the town’s 9pm curfew.

One citizen posted a video of the siren being used, writing: “As if things aren’t bad enough, the Crowley Louisiana police department played The Purge siren to notify its citizens of the evening curfew.”

The police department representing Arcadia Parish, which is based in Crowley, was forced to release a statement ensuring town members that it had not been behind the incident.

“Last night a ‘Purge Siren’ was utilised by the Crowley Police Department as part of their starting curfew,” it read.