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A dog walker has told of his alarm at finding a frankfurter on a Bristol street – the latest in a spate of similar incidents.

Concerns of attempted animal poisonings have been sparked by repeated discoveries of sausages dropped around Bristol since June.

A man, who did not wish to be named, says he was walking his daughter's Goldendoodle in the Westbury Park area at 9am on Wednesday (October 16).

From reading Bristol Live reports, he knew the concrete post on the corner of Henleaze Road and Downs Park West was where at least three sausages had previously been left.

The 68-year-old retiree said: "The dog normally sniffs in that corner because quite a few dogs pee there, and I thought he was doing the same as usual.

"He scratched at the leaves and out shot a frankfurter. We both dived for it at the same time and fortunately I got there first.

"It was a scary moment, because this dog eats anything. If my daughter would ever speak to me again, I had to get there first. She's a very possessive dog owner."

'He quickly got on his bike'

The man added that he spoke to two staff members at the nearby Ashbourne House care home about what had happened.

"I asked them if they had seen anyone planting sausages, and they both said yes," he said.

"The women had seen a man plant sausages on that corner three times over the last few weeks, covering them in leaves. When they approached him, he quickly got on his bike and cycled off.

"They described him as being 50 to 60, scruffy-looking and normally wearing a Barbour waxed cap.

"I threw the sausage away because I had read the police's previous statement to Bristol Live about how forensically investigating the sausages for poison would be too costly."

'Very strange'

The man said the incidents are "certainly" becoming a concern to him and he would like to see the police test the frankfurters for poison.

"Imagine if a child or homeless person picked it up, and it turned out to be dangerous," he continued.

"The one I picked up didn't seem to have any gel-like substance on it, like those which have been found previously, but you still can't tell if it's poisonous."

Ashbourne House owner Mark Laycock said the man's claims were the first he had heard of sausages being left in the area.

He added: "That's very strange. Hopefully we can crack the sausage mystery. We are actually considering getting CCTV, which may help deter it."

The other sausage incidents

James Ingham told Bristol Live in September his wife Jess found a sausage in a crisp packet at the corner of Henleaze Road and Downs Park West on three occasions over the summer.

Mr Ingham says the three sausages appeared to be coated in a gel and were "hidden" in cheddar and onion McCoy's packets.

He added: "We live in Downs Park East, and have a dog which we walk along the pavement to the Downs for exercise, past this concrete post, a couple of times a day.

"You can imagine we are keen to find out how concerned we should be.

Frankfurters were left on the driveways of two language schools in Clifton in June.

A woman, who did not wish to be named, said she saw a man placing two frankfurters on the drive of the English Language Centre on Pembroke Road at 7.30pm on June 9.

And she claims she found another frankfurter, wrapped in a leaf, outside Clifton College's languages department on Worcester Road at 7.30pm on June 16.

She says she saw a sausage of the same variety on the pavement of Leigh Road 15 minutes earlier.

The English Language Centre teaches students aged 16 and over, while Clifton College's pupils are aged from two to 18. The schools are around 0.2 miles from each other.

The woman feared the meat may have been coated with poison.

She said the man seen during the Pembroke Road incident was white, aged around 65, with grey and thinning hair, and of medium build, with a check shirt and dark trousers.

What are the police doing?

Avon and Somerset Constabulary told Bristol Live in June that an investigation was "underway to establish whether the food items contain any harmful or poisonous substances".

But a force spokeswoman has now said: "We’re aware of sausages being left on the ground in Clifton in suspicious circumstances on a number of occasions.

“We haven’t received any reports of animals falling ill as a result of eating the sausages.

“It’s not an offence to leave food on the floor and it would be disproportionate, particularly given the significant cost implications, to forensically examine these items.

“We are in contact with a veterinary practice in Clifton. Staff are aware of the incidents and will contact us if any animals are brought in due to poisoning matching these circumstances.”

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