Villagers armed with flare guns try to scare off 63 polar bears invading town

A video shows rangers using flare guns to scare off polar bears near Ryrkaypiy, Russia, and the village is on lockdown over fears the hungry animals might 'eat' residents

Villagers were seen using flare guns to try to scare away polar bears as more than 60 have begun encroaching into their neighbourhood.

A video shows several people using a digger to fire flares at a group of eight polar bears near Ryrkaypiy, Russia.

The village is in the eastern region of Chukotka - where Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich once served as governor.

At least 63 polar bears have made their way to the village to feed on seal carcasses.

The WWF says the bears have been unable to hunt for fish due to the mild weather preventing sea water from freezing.

The village is reportedly on lockdown over fears the hungry bears might try and eat some of its 766 residents. All public events, such as New Year's concerts, have been cancelled and there are now special buses to take children to and from school.

WWF patrollers say the use of flare guns is necessary to keep villagers safe - although not all the bears in the video seemed to retreat when the flares were shot.

Patroller Maksim Deminov - who filmed the video - told The Siberian Times: "The bear patrol is scaring polar bears away from the outskirts of the village and is moving a seal’s carcass to safer distance towards Cape Kozhevnikov."

Russian polar bear expert Anatoly Kochnev has warned the animals would get used to the flares.

He said: "You could have just pulled the seal to drag it away, but for some reason you opted for crowding around a bulldozer and shooting."

But the ranger hit back: 'When hungry, they can wound or eat a human.

"There were a couple of incidents in the past before our patrol was formed.

"We have already stopped a couple of their attempts to get inside the village.

"We must be on duty constantly.

"Other than that, of course, humans are not part of their diet."

He insisted: "There is no harm caused by the flares."

It is illegal in Russia to shoot polar bears.

The village also faced a polar bear invasion last year. But this year, patrollers say there are more bears than before.

Mikhail Stishov, Arctic biodiversity project coordinator for WWF-Russia, said: "If there is enough ice, the bears go north to hunt seals. When the ice sheet is not thick enough they stay on land and reach the town attracted by curiosity and hunger.

"Waste deposits can attract animals; bears are approaching due to the smell of food waste, regardless of the availability of other foods.

"The concentration of polar bears is increasing more frequently, so we have to adapt and find ways to avoid conflict between people and animals. "

Head of the WWF Polar Bear Patrol in Ryrkaipiy Tatiana Minenko also said: "Nearly all the polar bears are skinny.

"There are adult bears, adolescents and mother bears with cubs of different ages."