THIEVES have stolen explosive charges from a railway construction van.

Thieves broke into the van, which belongs to a railways contractor, when it was parked outside an address in Cross Street, Tyldesley, between 10pm on Tuesday and 8.30am on Wednesday.

They stole a blue safety kit bag containing equipment used for maintaining the rail network, which contained several items, including six detonator signals or small explosive charges.

The charges are attached to the railway line with lead straps and are detonated when the trains drive over them.

They produce a loud bang, similar to a gunshot, and are used to alert drivers when work is taking place on the track up ahead.

The detonator signals are about two inches in diameter and were stored as a set of six in an orange container.

Det Sgt Paul Jackson said: "I would like to stress that these signal detonators pose very little risk to the public.

"They cannot be primed or set off with a timer, and do not explode in the way a proper explosive device would do.

"However, there is a chance they can be used to cause some damage to vehicles if driven over, or cause alarm if they are set off near unsuspecting people.

"That is why we would like the public's help in getting them recovered as quickly as possible."

Anyone with information can call police on 0161 8567225 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.