Gardaí have warned a thief who stole a woman's handbag from a bus that the bag contains a potentially lethal injection.
The woman, who had been travelling on the Athlone to Galway Bus Éireann service on Wednesday, discovered that her bag was missing when she arrived at Ceannt Station at about 3pm.
The victim of the theft had been diagnosed as someone who could suffer severe allergic reaction.
She had carried the emergency syringe with her at all times as a precautionary measure.
Her black corduroy handbag contained some money and a mobile phone in addition to the syringe carrying what is known as an "anaphylactic shock injection".
A Garda spokesperson explained: "What is contained in that syringe is pure adrenalin which can be highly dangerous if taken."
Anaphylactic shock is the most severe type of anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergic reaction and is life-threatening.