Police found an abandoned suitcase containing 48 bottles of a highly flammable liquid which can be used to make bombs on a street in Croydon this afternoon.

Following a report from a member of the public, officers attended Elmers Road, Woodside, where they found the suspicious holdall.

The suitcase contained 48 bottles of acetone, a liquid known for its extreme flammability, which is commonly used as nail polish remover. 

In its oxidised form, acetone peroxide, it is highly explosive and has a history of being used in suicide bomb attacks.

Terrorists used the substance in the 7/7 London bombings, where four suicide attackers killed 52 people and injured more than 700.

It was also used in the Manchester Arena bombing in June 2017.

A police spokesperson said: "Following a report from a member of public, officers attended Elmers Road in Croydon to reports of a suspicious abandoned suitcase.

"Officers attended & recovered 48 bottles of acetone from within that could have been used by someone for the wrong reason."