Scalpel blades found taped to children's slide in Ormskirk Published duration 1 December 2018

image copyright Lancashire Police image caption Police say the blades could "have caused serious injury to a child"

Scalpel and razor blades have been found taped to the sides of a slide in a children's play area.

They were found stuck to play equipment at the Winifred Lane play area in Aughton, near Ormskirk, Lancashire Police said on Facebook

Doreen Stephenson, a councillor for Aughton Park, labelled the culprits a "disgrace", adding: "It's quite frightening to think what the consequences could be."

Police urged "everyone to be vigilant".

Ms Stephenson said: "I can't believe anybody would stoop so low to do something like this in a public children's play area.

"It's an absolute disgrace."

'Absolutely horrified'

Police urged parents to "check any play equipment before you let your child use it".

"Whoever did this could have caused serious injury to a child - please be assured we are fully investigating this matter," they added.

Another local ward councillor, David Westley, said the park was run by the parish council and they would be passing any useful CCTV footage on to police.

He added: "I'm absolutely horrified. It's impossible to comprehend why anyone would do such a thing."

People commenting on the police Facebook post branded the vandals "disgusting", "sick" and "horrible".