Cyanide bag warning after theft

The canvas bags measure 30cm by 70cm (12in by 28in)

A police warning has been issued over four canvas bags soaked in a dangerous cyanide compound which were stolen from a metal treatment plant in Surrey.

The white bags are used to hold pieces of metal while they are being submerged in a potassium-cyanide liquid.

Police said they believed thieves were hoping to find precious metals in the bags they took from the North Weylands Industrial Estate, in Walton-on-Thames.

Now officers fear the potentially lethal items could have been discarded.

Potentially fatal

The cyanide compound does not evaporate from the bags and they would normally be safely disposed of.

But the burglars removed four of them intact from the dipping unit containing the liquid.

Anyone who finds the bags should leave them alone and call 999 immediately.

The cyanide compound is not believed to be dangerous in large open areas, but it is potentially fatal if it enters the body orally or through skin.

The burglary took place at about 2115 BST on Sunday.

A vehicle that may have been used by the offenders was found dumped at Upper Halliford railway station.