CITY CENTRE FULL OF USED NEEDLES

Preston city centre is full of dirty needles left by drug users, the
Evening Post can reveal.

According to new figures, cleaners have found almost 1,000 'sharps'
over the last 18 months - and the city's bus station and market hall
are the worst hotspots.

They found 863 syringes across the city, with 270 in the indoor market
and another 158 in the bus station.

But Preston Council bosses insist they are winning the war against
junkies, saying needle exchanges saw the amount found decline in
recent months.

The figures were released under the Freedom of Information Act after a
request by the Evening Post.

Mick Tickle, building cleaning services manager, said his staff
regularly find needles scattered across the market when they move on
rough sleepers each morning.

He said: "The market hall and the bus station are worst, largely
because of the numbers of rough sleepers and toilets there.

"We have sharps disposal chutes in all new toilets but there are
people who still leave needles on the floor of toilet cubicles, not
thinking the next person in could be a child."

The figures also showed that needles were found on roads around the
city, including 60 under a bridge in Miller Park and 50 on Brockholes
Brow.

Head of clean environment, Mark Taylor, said he did not believe
Preston had a major problem with drug users.

He said: "There is the odd hotspot but big finds are usually people
who dump a pile of them rather than it being a good secluded place for
drug-taking."