DETECTIVES investigating a double death in a Southampton hotel room have warned that a batch of lethal drugs could be circulating in the city.

The discovery of the two bodies of men aged in their 30s has prompted police to release the warning after initial examinations revealed the deaths could be drugs-related.

Police say they are still keeping an open mind on the cause of death but are investigating the possibility the men, who are not thought to be from the local area, were the victims of contaminated drugs.

Officers confirmed drugs paraphernalia was also found in the hotel room on the third floor of the Novotel in West Quay Road, Southampton, where the men were staying as guests.

Substances, thought to be heroin, were also recovered.

The bodies were discovered at 1pm yesterday by hotel staff and were removed by 5pm. The entrance to the third floor remained sealed off yesterday evening and a lone police car remained parked outside the ivy-covered entrance to the hotel.

Scenes of crime officers spent the afternoon conducting a thorough examination of the hotel room where the two men were found.

Post-mortems on the bodies were due to take place today while detectives contact relatives to confirm the identity of the two men.

Hotel bosses released a statement only to confirm the discovery of the bodies.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm that two male bodies have been found at 1pm today in a guest bedroom at Novotel Southampton.

"The cause of death is not yet known.

"The police are currently investing the incident."

Guests at the West Quay Road hotel remained largely unaware of the incident as they passed through the reception of the hotel, which is mainly used by businessmen during the week and where a double room costs £89 per night.

Dete Insp Paul Barton, who is leading the inquiry, said: "We are keeping an open mind but it appears that these could be drugs overdoses.

"People who use such substances should be aware that there may be a batch of extremely potent drugs available on the streets that could have a lethal effect.

"All such drugs are illegal and we actively work against anyone using or dealing them in Southampton.

"Nonetheless, we must also work towards protecting life and preventing unnecessary death, so we would urge those using drugs to be extra cautious."