A six-year-old boy who found a chocolate egg under a hedge last week was perplexed on opening it up to find a bag containing a white powder inside.

The child, who was playing with his eight-year-old brother in their home town of Limavady, Northern Ireland, gave the mystery substance to his father, who then passed it on to police.

Inspector Colin Shaw of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “The contents of the bag, which was found inside a toy egg, is believed to be methamphetamine. This small quantity of drugs will be disposed of by police.

“This incident is of the uppermost concern for all of us. Tackling the use and supply of illegal drugs is a priority for us and the possibility that something so potentially dangerous has been discarded where children could find it is deeply concerning.

“I don’t want members of the local community to find drugs on their street, however this incident just reminds us that criminals have no regard whatsoever for the safety of local residents, and I am thankful that this child had the sense to speak to an adult about what he discovered.”