THE fire service has issued a warning after a LPG gas cylinder was illegally dumped at a tip.

An appliance from Rawdon Fire Station was called at around 12noon on Friday to Yeadon Household Waste Recycling Centre, on Milner's Road, Yeadon.

A spokesperson from Rawdon Fire Station said: "A LPG gas cylinder was thrown into a skip. It was illegally dumped and could have killed someone."

Firefighters wore breathing apparatus to remove the 100 litre black cylinder, which had a damaged valve and was leaking gas, and dismantled it to make the scene safe.

The spokesperson said: "Somebody distracted the people working there and dropped into a skip full of metal. If that would have got crushed and went bang shrapnel could have gone anywhere.

"I can't believe that someone thought it was ok to do that. It still had loads of gas left in it.

"Cylinders like that need to be disposed of properly."

The spokesperson said CCTV footage at the site was being reviewed.