People walking their four-legged friends in the city have been told to stay alert after piles of white powder were dumped at a popular beauty spot.

Simon East, 64, was walking in Mousehold Avenue on Sunday when his three-year-old dog began eating some unidentified white powder near the path.

The retired teacher said: "My dog stopped by a lamp post and I obviously didn't think much as dogs stop at lamp posts all the time. But then I looked down and he'd been eating a white powder.

"There was about a handful of this substance at the bottom of the lamp post, I pulled him away and we kept walking. There was more powder at the next lamp post, and at the next one. I also spotted it across Mousehold Heath.

"It was obviously not an accident. It wasn't something that someone had dropped. It had been put there."

Mr East, who lives nearby, said: "I was really distressed, as I'm sure other owners were. I'd just like an apology from whoever put the powder down.

"Most of the time things turn out fine but you have to take responsibility for mistakes."

Mr East immediately called the vet upon returning home, saying: "I was so worried it was rat poison. The vet gave him an injection to make him throw up and he vomited for about an hour.

"The vet couldn't tell what the powder was. I hope was just flour but there are some evil people out there so you can never be sure."

He added that there are spots across the city to watch out for, saying: "There were more piles on top of walls and bins on the Heath, as well as some on the ground.

"Whoever put it there didn't think it through. If my dog ate it then so would other dogs. And that means other owners would have had the same fear as me.

"My dog really filled a hole in my life. I love him. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him."