Google Street View captures friends recreating William Tell apple shot

The scene was photographed by a passing Google Street View car

Matthew Ferrucci and his friend recreate the famous apple shot scene from William Tell (Google Maps)

When Matthew Ferrucci saw the Google Street View car moving up the road towards his house, he and a friend knew they had to hatch a plan quickly if they wanted to appear in style.

As the car approached, they ran inside to grab a bow and arrow to recreate William Tell's famous apple shot.

However, because they couldn't find any apples, they used a gourd Mr Ferrucci had grown instead.

They held their pose as the car drove past.

For safety reasons, Mr Ferruci's friend stood five feet to the left so that the arrow wouldn't hit him if it was accidentally fired.

The driver of the car reportedly shouted "I like it!" when he saw the scene.

Mr Ferrucci told The Independent that the photo was taken in August 2013.

"I checked Google Maps daily for weeks, then once or twice a week for another month, then every now and then, but come October there it was in all its glory."

When Facebook's On This Day feature reminded him of the photo, he decided to upload it to Reddit, where it gained around 1.5 million views in 24 hours.

The scene can be found on Google Maps on 98 Scard Road East in Wallingford, Connecticut.