Operation overkill: Police use four squad cars and seven officers to evict group of protesting pensioners from bowls club

But when police were called to deal with pensioners on a bowling green without permission, they left nothing to chance.

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With sirens wailing and tyres screeching, four squad cars and seven officers arrived to get to grips with the imposters.

The bemused bowls team decided not to make a run for it and the strong arm of the law prevailed.

But yesterday they voiced surprise at the level of enforcement judged necessary to quell their rebellious behaviour.

Northavon Bowling Club has been denied permission to use the green after refusing to pay a 25 per cent rent increase enforced by Bradley Stoke Town Council in Bristol.

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The gates were chained shut but, on finding the chains had been cut, around 50 club members decided to take advantage with a quick afternoon game.

An anonymous call to the police put paid to their enjoyment. lan Brackstone, 74, a retired printer and former club president, said the club intended to make a formal complaint about the waste of police time.

He said: "Sending seven police officers for a bunch of bowling pensioners was ridiculously heavyhanded. What did they expect us to do - run away?

"We had to take a stand. It is simply not right that the council are demanding so much money for a resource which keeps elderly people active and socialising."

A spokesman for the Northavon club, which has around 100 members, said he did not know who cut the chain on the gates but said they decided to take the opportunity for a game.

"Suddenly we heard police sirens and there were four police cars with seven officers.

"They were threatening to make arrests but we decided we shouldn't put them to the test. We were shocked."

The green is owned by the council, which runs it as a "pay and play" facility.

The bowling club is by far the biggest customer, paying £8,000 a year.

The council announced last year that it intended to increase the rent to more than £10,000, which would put individual members' subs up from £85 a year to more than £100.

In reponse to the club's refusal to pay up, the council ordered them to clear everything from the site and padlocked the gates.

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Bowler Barrie Smith, who is in his 70s, said he and his club colleagues had a point to prove.

He said: "Yet again it's the older generation who are being got at.

"As a senior citizen I'm being forced out of the only activity I'm still able to take part in."

Bradley Stoke mayor Julian Barge said the rent rise was necessary to cover increased costs.

He said the council wanted the green to continue to be used for bowling but could not rule out developing it for other uses.

"One or two of the club's officers are trying to create a situation of confrontation and have been very unhelpful," he said.

"The town council has subsidised the club for many years but they need to come into the 21st century."

A police spokesman denied that the force had been heavy-handed, as the initial report was of a burglary.