POLICE have issued a warning after an area around a footpath in Lampeter was booby-trapped with a piece of wood with rusty nails hammered into it.

The piece of wood, which was emblazoned with an expletive-laden warning to footpath users not to drift off the trail, was found by a member of the public on the footpath in Lodge Wood, Forest Road, and reported to police.

It was placed upwards in the ground with the nail tips exposed so that “any persons or animals going over it would have been seriously injured,” police said.

PC Mandy Palmer of Lampeter Police Station said it could have caused “serious harm to members of the public”.

“A handwritten message was written on the bottom and made it very clear in the offensive language used that they do not want persons using an area of the woodland, which has no restrictions so is free for use by walkers or cyclists,” she said.

“We would urge anyone using the footpaths in this area to be vigilant, and to report any suspicious activity to the police.”

If anyone has seen or does see anything suspicious in the area, they are asked to contact police on 101.