An Arctic region of Russia has declared a state of emergency over a polar bear 'invasion' which has left people 'afraid to go outside'.

The aggressive bears have entered homes and public buildings in the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago - home to around 3,000 people - where officials have warned of a 'mass invasion'.

Since December 52 polar bears have regularly visited the archipelago's main settlement, Belushya Guba, with some displaying 'aggressive behaviour'.

People are 'afraid to go outside' and 'daily life is in turmoil', said the deputy head of the local administration, Aleksandr Minayev.

Invasion: A polar bear prowls inside a building, one of more than 50 of the endangered animals who have been terrorising residents in a remote Arctic archipelago in Russia

Aggressive: A polar bear at a playground on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in northern Russia, with parents left worried about sending their children to schools and kindergartens

'Parents are wary of letting children to go to schools and kindergartens,' he said.

'There are cases of aggressive behaviour of wild animals - attacks on people, penetration into residential and office buildings.

'There are constantly 6 to 10 bears inside the settlement.'

Bears are constantly inside a military garrison and 'literally chase people' as well as going into the entrances of blocks of flats, another official said.

Despite the siege, residents have been warned they face prosecution if they shoot the endangered species.

Scavengers: More than a dozen polar bears search through a pile of rubbish amid a state of emergency and fears that the animals no longer feel scared of patrols

Playground: One of the animals roams around a Russian yard on the Arctic archipelago

Presence: Two of the dozens of polar bears regularly spotted in the area. People are 'afraid to go outside' and 'daily life is in turmoil', a local official said

Lurking: One of the polar bears, who cannot legally be shot because they are endangered

A request to Moscow to allow the shooting of some bears has met with a flat refusal from nature preservation bosses.

Instead a team of specialists has been dispatched to the outpost to advice residents on other measures to discourage the bears.

Local officials have complained that vehicle and dog patrols have not been effective as polar bears feel secure and no longer react.

Polar bears are affected by global warming with melting Arctic ice forcing them to spend more time on land where they compete for food.

Russia has air force and air defence troops based on Novaya Zemlya. The archipelago in the Arctic was used by the USSR for nuclear tests.