People have been warned not to eat a blue cheese at the centre of an E Coli outbreak which hit 18 people.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said it is believed several affected people had eaten Dunsyre Blue, manufactured by Lanarkshire-based Errington Cheese and fell ill between July 2 and July 16.

The firm is now carrying out a voluntary recall of two batches, C22 and D14, which people are advised not to eat. Sixteen cases were confirmed on Friday but that number rose to 18 on Tuesday.

HPS said it had been working with Foods Standards Scotland (FSS), NHS boards and local authority environmental health teams to "investigate and manage" the outbreak.

A statement from HPS on Tuesday said: "Investigations led by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) into an outbreak of E Coli O157 have pointed to a link with particular batches of a blue cheese product called Dunsyre Blue made with unpasteurised cows' milk and manufactured by the company Errington Cheese.

"The company is carrying out a voluntary recall.

"As members of the public who purchased this product may still have these items in their fridges at home, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) is advising on a precautionary basis that Dunsyre Blue cheeses purchased between May 18 and July 29 with the codes C22 and D14 should not be consumed.

"These products can be identified by the batch code on the packaging and should either be returned to the retailer or disposed of.

"If consumers still have concerns or are unable to identify batch codes, they should contact Errington Cheese directly or the retailers where they purchased the product.