A BOTTLE of blood was found by a bus stop which may have been left by a person with serious injuries.

The vial was discovered in Chichester Road, Southend, by a horrified passer-by who reported it to the police.

It was found near a patch of clotted blood on the pavement near the bus stop at Warrior Square along with some bloody medical gauzes.

Police arrived at the scene at about 7pm on Wednesday and removed the long thin plastic container filled with blood.

But they have been left perplexed by the find, after enquiries with local hospitals and the ambulance service have failed to identify the source of the blood.

Anyone with information about this unusual find is asked to contact the investigating officer, PC Lee Ryan, at Southend police station on 0300 3334444. Please quote incident 1010 of April 13.