A FATHER has told of his shock after he went out for a walk and discovered used needles plus other drug-related waste near where his daughter had been playing.

Alistair Flockhart, of Shrivenham Road, Swindon, had been walking in the nearby sports fields next to the County Ground stadium with his wife and two year-old daughter when they made the discovery.

“My daughter ran off exploring and we went after her,” he said. “My wife and I were shocked to discover there was needles and other drug related waste by the shrubbery.

“I noticed two needles in total but there was also syringe packets and other waste. The way the needles were sitting it could have easily stabbed someone if they hadn’t seen them.”

Asked about his initial reaction to the discovery he said: “I was immediately quite worried and then had absolute fear because we weren’t sure whether my daughter had stood on them.

“It is really such a shame that these things happen, we have such little open green spaces that we can enjoy locally and it’s bad that we don’t feel safe to go there.

“I contacted the council and they came out to meet me. I couldn’t really fault the council, they were very helpful, but I’d rather not have to phone them for reporting drug use.”

Alistair had initially posted photos of his find on Facebook with one user, Adam Brookman saying: “For God sakes. You can’t go anywhere nowadays without seeing needles.”

Another user, Marie O’Shaughnessy said the people who left the waste were “disgracefully irresponsible”.

Bryan Clinton, chairman of the Swindon Harriers, a local running group that uses the sports fields, said it’s a sad situation. “We have had people gather there from time to time. There was concern from the coaches that people were leaving their debris behind and that can be dangerous for the children we teach.

“We’ve gone down there ourselves and asked people to clear up after themselves and they have generally done that.

“We’ve also contacted the police but there’s only so much they can do. It’s not the people that scare us, it’s what they leave behind.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We were made aware of this issue and we cleared the needles straight away. We always aim to remove discarded needles within four hours, but in many cases are there within the hour.

“It is extremely irresponsible to drop needles in public places and we would urge people to be more considerate. Members of the public can report discarded needles by logging on to https://bit.ly/2S4gVo2.”