A 71-year-old Dutchman shot and killed his British next door neighbours’ 11-year-old daughter and critically wounded her father in a village in Brittany, France, on Sunday.

The girl’s mother was also hurt in the attack, which took place at 10 pm. An eight-year-old girl who had been playing with her sister in the garden was unhurt but found in a state of shock, French media reported.

The man reportedly opened fire through the hedge separating the two gardens and then locked himself and his wife in the house until police came to arrest them. He has since been charged with murder and attempted murder.

The man, a 71-year-old pensioner and his wife had lived next door the the British family in the village of Saint-Herbot for three years.

According to neighbours, the Dutch couple and the British family had been involved in a row over a piece of land.

British media report that the Dutch couple moved to the village some six years ago.