A mum-of-three who sells dolls has been forced to put up signs in her home window urging people not to ‘panic’ after police broke in thinking one was a real baby.

Ava Prior, who paints ultra-realistic ‘reborn’ dolls as a hobby and sells them, says officers mistook one for an ‘abandoned’ child.

Officers smashed the door down to rescue it, causing more than £400 worth of damage.

The seller said: ‘It wasn’t hilarious at the time but I can see the funny side now.

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In December Ava, from Malvern in Worcestershire, put the finishing touches on a doll, dressed it in a snowsuit and put it in a carrycot so she could take photos to sell it online.

After taking a few photos of the realistic baby, which sell for up to £180 per doll, she left the carrycot on the floor, turned the light off and headed to her friend’s with her youngest son for a catch up.

At the same time Ava’s mum, who she speaks to regularly, couldn’t get through to her daughter as her phone was switched off and charging.

Worried, her mum called the police, who immediately went round to her house, and this is when the mix-up with the doll happened.

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In a bid to prevent anything similar happening again, Ava made stickers for her windows that read: ‘Reborn dolls on premises. NO babies are alone in the house – please do NOT panic or break doors/window. Many thanks :)’.