A group of schoolboys, aged between 10 and 12 years old, were out playing on Wednesday afternoon by the Homs Road car park, Ross-on-Wye, when they spotted a wooden box. It was not sealed so they lifted the lid and straightaway saw that it contained needles and syringes.

The stepmum of one of the boys, Carolyn Pritchard, told the Ross Gazette they were very sensible. She said: "They left the box alone and rang the police, then they rang me."

She said she went to them straight away and was shocked by what she saw. She said you just don’t expect kids to stumble across something like this. She called the police again but they said they would inform Herefordshire Council who would remove it.

As the parents were concerned about leaving the box Carolyn said one of them took it to their garden.

A spokesperson for the SNT at West Mercia Police told the Gazette that the box was disposed of.