Police are warning shoppers not to buy cheap meat which may be contaminated with an animal drug which is harmful to humans. A flock of 38 Texel sheep which were stolen between 11am on October 27th and 9am on October 28th had been treated with a worming drug called Zermex three days before they were stolen.

A spokesperson said: "It is possible the animals were stolen so they could be slaughtered and their meat sold on cheaply. The warning on the packet of the drug says that the treated animals must not be slaughtered within 70 days of the last treatment.

"While we are not sure what the effects of eating meat within this time frame would have on a person, what we can say is that it is definitely not recommended.

"Because of this, we are warning people not to eat this meat if offered it and we would remind residents they can only trust meat bought from a legitimate business.

"We would also urge people to let us know if they are offered illegally-sourced meat and would ask anyone who has any information about this particular theft, to call us on 101 quoting reference 177S 281013."Information can also be given to the anonymous Crimestoppers charity by calling 0800 555 111.