Parents have been issued a warning by police after a dangerous item was spotted in a child’s lunchbox. A police force has taken to social media to warn parents after the inappropriate item was found.

The City of South Fulton Police Department in Georgia, the US, shared a picture of a child’s packed lunch on Facebook. While the lunch included regular items such as a sandwich, grapes and Doritos crisps, there was also a more inappropriate inclusion. The picture shows a can of Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini tucked to the side of the lunch bag. The vodka-based drink features an alcohol volume of 12%.

The police said: “Before you send them babies off to school️ … CHECK. THE. LUNCH BOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to … Cutwater margaritas?

“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack.”

Although they acknowledged that “mornings can be hectic” for parents, the force reiterated that children should not have alcohol in their lunches. They added: “Check the lunch box before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess.”

A number of parents have since commented on the post. Some were shocked, while most saw the funny side of the mistake.

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One person said: “The martini was for the teacher.” A second added: “OK since the child didn’t drink it, this is pretty hilarious.” A third wrote: “Aw. He thought he was getting lemonade to drink.”

A fourth joked: “There is a VERY upset mum with a can of apple juice in her lunch.” A fifth commented: “I just KNOWWWW dad packed lunch this day and thought it was flavoured water or something.”

A sixth put: “My aunt thought Cutwater was flavoured water the child probably thought the same thing.” A seventh suggested: “To be fair, the packaging looks like some regular soda.”