Residents of a County Durham village have expressed their fury after council officers discovered 30 hypodermic needles in a well-used piece of grassland that children regularly play on.
Earlier this week, council warden officers were patrolling land near the River Wear in Witton Park following public complaints about drug paraphernalia when they spotted numerous pieces of fly-tipping and two bin bags full of rubbish.
After investigating further, the Durham County Council neighbourhood wardens discovered 30 needles, empty paracetamol packets and a range of other items of litter.
Following the discovery, the wardens confirmed that they had removed and disposed of the needles in the correct way via a post on their social media page.
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In the post, the wardens said: “30 hypodermic needles removed from beauty spot - Neighbourhood Wardens have safely removed 30 needles that have been carelessly discarded near the River Wear in Witton Park.
“If you see any hypodermic needles, please contact the council on 03000 260000 or by completing the do it online feature on www.durham.gov.uk/doitonline.”
Despite the post highlighting that the needles had been picked up, residents of Witton Park have reacted angrily to the fact that they shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Commenting on the original post, one social media user said: “Some beauty spot if that's going on,” while another questioned what else could be in the bag, adding: “There is a questionable safety concern regarding the contents in the remaining bags, as there could be further needles inside.”
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