A police force has sounded an alert about potentially lethal "dirty" heroin circulating.

Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary described the substance as "red heroin" and issued a warning that the "poor quality" drug was circulating in the region.

The force could not say yesterday how it came to find the drug, but said it had sent an alert across all organisations in Dumfries and Galloway who work with people who use heroin, including needle exchanges.

Police said the heroin is "off red" in colour and "materials" the drug is being cut with mean it crystallises in a syringe when being prepared.

A spokesman said: "The knock-on effect of this is that users of the drug may tend to inject the solution as quickly as possible, which in turn can cause blockages, leading to vein damage, possible abscesses or even deep vein thrombosis.

"In the worst-case scenario, the effects could prove fatal."