A POTENTIAL serious injury may have been prevented after a number of 'viciously sharp' spike traps were discovered in the Salisbury Plain near Tidworth.

Vikki Ann Hayes-Majongwe, from Tidworth, and her 12-year-old son George were walking their dog in the Salisbury Plain last week when they spotted eight nails that were over six inches long protruding out of the ground on the old Marlborough Road.

The 38-year-old said the series of nails, which were just off a road in the plain, had been pushed into the soil by hand and presented a crude attempt at deflating tyres but could have caused a horrific injury to humans or animals.

"Thankfully we found them as this could really have caused a very nasty incident as they were viciously sharp nails and were much larger than I first thought," she said.

"We went back the next day and there were two farmers that were going up and down the track. I think someone has tried to stop people driving down this part of the plain and wanted to do maximum damage. It is not rocket science.

"I posted the pictures on social media and then it sort of went viral. Thousands of people know about this now which is good in the sense that it raises the awareness of something like this occurring.

"A lot of walkers will go along here. There will be horse hunts and dog walkers, all of whom could have been hurt.

"This is an incredibly dangerous thing to do and just completely wrong. Even if someone is driving across the old road when they should not this is no way to act. It is horrible to think what may have happened."

Mrs Hayes-Majongwe's Facebook post was shared by the Wiltshire Trail Riders Fellowship (WTRF), an off-road motorcycle group, who reported a similar incident to the police in February when spikes were found on a public byway near Tilshead.

"The trap was viable and could have caused serious injury to pedestrians, horses and dogs," said James Higgs of the WTRF.

"The discovery of traps such as this is a rare occurrence, with previous incidents being both confined to the training area and discovered without causing injury.

"Salisbury Plain is a valuable military, recreation and conservation asset and is particularly popular over Christmas and the New Year so people should take care."

Wiltshire police have now launched an appeal for information about this incident. Call 101 for information.