Newberry County Sheriff’s Office in the US state of South Carolina said it had received calls about “a noise in the air that sounds like a siren, or a whine, or a roar”, which is in fact caused by cicadas.

In a Facebook post, the force went on to explain that cicadas “are a super family of insects that appear each spring… now [at] this time they are hatching”.

It added: “Although to some, the noise is annoying, they pose no danger to humans or pets.

“Unfortunately it is the sounds of nature.”