20/12/2013 (BBC News) - Dog walkers are being warned to keep their pets away from a white substance that has washed up in Devon.

The substance, believed to be palm oil, has been discovered on three beaches in the Salcombe Estuary, South Hams District Council said.

Clean-up teams were to clear up the waxy substance from North and South Sands beaches by hand on Friday morning, the council said.

The substance is thought to have washed up in storms on Wednesday night.

In October, a dog that ate palm oil that had washed up on a beach in Cornwall died and several others became sick.

The Environment Agency confirmed the substance around Salcombe was similar to that oil.

Health officials said there was no risk to humans.