PHARMACISTS Cathy March and Sue Brignall helped to sort through more than 200kg of drugs which were handed in as part of a campaign for people to clear out their medicine cabinets in October 1974.

The haul that month included three bottles of cyanide, one bottle containing a pound of the poison. Arsenic and amphetamines were also found in the haul.

Two sets of false teeth – one broken and another in perfect condition – were also handed in.

Some drugs dated back to pre-war years, including heroin-type opiates and thalidomide, the morning sickness treatment which was later found to cause deformities in babies.

Campaign organiser Roger Odd calculated that 86,000 tablets and 10 litres of liquids had been handed in the first week.

Most of the drugs were burnt in an incinerator.