Biosecurity warning after ‘mysterious’ seeds from the Far East posted to Horsham people

Mysterious ‘seed packages’ have been posted to people in the town despite them not being ordered or bought, Horsham District Council said.

And officials have said a national investigations has been launched by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to uncover the source of the seeds and to find out why they have been posted.

A spokeswoman said: “There have been reports that the packaging bears Chinese characters suggesting they may have originated from the far-east. There are fears that the seeds could be an invasive species and have prompted biosecurity concerns among officials.

“If you have received such seeds, please do not to plant them or throw them away in with domestic rubbish. You should instead forward on the packets of seeds with the original envelope/package the seeds were mailed in to:

“Paul Bratby, APHA-PHSI, 2nd Floor, Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham, NG2 4LA”

Officials will destroy any seeds which are posted to them, the council said.