The horrific Coro St scene

Coronation Street viewers filed nearly 400 complaints over violent murder scenes broadcast during prime time television.

* Warning: The following contains spoilers for an episode yet to be broadcast in New Zealand.

Viewers watched in horror as kidnapper Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre) forced captive Andy Carver (Oliver Farnworth) to kill Vinny Ashford (Ian Kesley) before shooting him too in a dark double-bill, The Daily Mail reports.

Dozens took to Twitter to complain that the soap had "gone way too far" and claimed the scenes were "more like a horror movie" than a family-friendly soap.

Ofcom confirmed that it had received 390 complaints in relation to the broadcast.

A spokesperson added: "We will assess these complaints before deciding whether or not to investigate."

Having already set his sights on framing Anna Windass (Debbie Rush) for the attempted murder of Seb Franklin (Harry Visinoni), Pat blackmailed Andy by telling him he could can have his freedom back if he killed Vinny.

Pat had convinced Andy that he would let him go if he helped him to take Vinny hostage as his "replacement".

With freedom in mind, Andy co-operated, but he was unaware that Pat had a dark twist set in store for him.

Phelan sought revenge on Vinny after he made off with all the money from the duo's plans to scam Weatherfield's residents by selling flats they had no intention of building.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is reproduced here with permission.