A man and his family were taken to hospital in Kent after he came into contact with a potentially harmful substance.

The major alert was sparked after canisters containing an unconfirmed substance were found at the Richborough recycling plant, near Sandwich, at around 8pm Monday.

Police immediately sealed off the facility and Strand Street in Sandwich.

The family were checked over at Margate's QEQM hospital, where specialist decontamination teams and up to 20 firefighters were on standby in case of more casualties.

One of the county's two incident response units, which are specifically designed for use in a terrorist attack such as a dirty bomb, was also set up as a precaution at the hospital.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue confirmed the equipment is "rarely used in action".

Military experts arrived at the recycling depot in Sandwich at 5am and the canisters were taken to the Porton Down government and military science park in Wiltshire for independent testing.

The site in Sandwich has since been declared safe by Kent Police.