The trail of blood, approximately one mile in length, which was discovered by a member of the public in Hereford this morning (Tuesday, February 16th) has been traced to the injured party who has been treated by an ambulance crew.Chief Inspector Richard Rees said: "The injured man has been located and we are satisfied that he has not been a victim of crime. He has been treated by an ambulance crew at his home address. The trail of blood was the result of a medical issue rather than anything criminal. The local council has been contacted to facilitate the clean up of the public areas. Thank you to everyone who shared our appeal."

The police were called at around 7.42am to investigate the scene. The blood trail stretched from Victoria Bridge to Bishops Meadow and through Hinton Avenue. The trail appeared to originate near to Nelson Street.

Blood has also been found on a bench by the ship monument on Victoria Bridge, and near to other benches along the river.

Detective Inspector Richard Rees said: "I want to reassure residents that we are investigating the cause of this blood trail thoroughly and there appears to be no threat to the wider public.

"Uniformed officers as well as detectives from CID are at the scene conducting door-to- door enquiries, searches of the area and we are in contact with local hospitals.

"There is nothing to suggest that a crime has been committed, we are keeping an open mind to all possibilities. Our main priority is to find the person who is injured and bleeding. If you have any information that could help our investigation please call 101."

If you witnessed anything suspicious in the area or may be able to help with the investigation please call 101 quoting incident number 84s of Tuesday, February 16th.

Alternatively, if you do not feel comfortable speaking directly to the police, then you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online via their website. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.