The chunk of palm oil was spotted on the beach on Thursday (Image: Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Team)
Coastguards were called to a long, sandy beach in northern Cornwall to dispose of a “chunk of toxic palm oil” after a spate of in the county.
The pretty seaside village of Holywell lies just a few miles west of popular surfing town , where four dogs are reported to have died after ingesting dangerous hemlock root.
The poisonous substance was thought to have washed ashore after being dislodged from riverbanks during stormy weather – but residents and tourists have been urged to be hypervigilant after another “toxic” substance was spotted on the shores of Holywell this week.
Villagers noticied a “sizeable chunk of toxic palm oil” on the on Thursday, February 27, sparking fears of yet another risk to the health of pets allowed to roam off-lead on the sandy stretch.
Palm oil is widely used in products including food and cosmetics, but its unprocessed solidified variant can be highly toxic, especially when exposed to other polluting substances in the ocean.
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The “toxic” chunk of palm oil was safely removed by the local coastguard (Image: Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Team)
It poses a particular risk to dogs, who are often drawn to the odd-looking white or yellow lumps that can be legally released at sea by ships cleaning their tanks and solidify in the cold ocean temperatures.
The large block of oil was disposed of by the Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team on Thursday afternoon.
Palm oil can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in dogs, as well as dehydration, abdominal pain, lethargy and intestinal blockage – with even a very small amount posing a serious health risk.
The coastguard team said the block had been moved to a “safe place” and urged locals to report sightings of “anything suspicious” on the seafront immediately.
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It comes after at least four dogs were killed in Cornwall and Wales after being thought to have ingested hemlock root earlier this year.
Coffee shop owner Djamila Bousksou had to put down her three-year-old English Bull Terrier Duke after he ate the lethal plant during a seaside walk in Cornwall in January.
Before his death, Ms Bousksou told Voice Newspapers that he had experienced “severe vomiting, a collapsed oesophagus and bloody diarrhoea”.
Dog owners were warned to avoid Fistral Beach and Little Fistral Beach, close to Holywell in Newquay, after a number of animals fell ill after visiting.