Litter pickers find 15,000 used needles in car park in Tipton

Needle picking
Credit: BPM Media

Litter pickers have revealed that they found 15,000 used needles during a clean-up in Tipton.

Around 500 boxes were found at a car park behind Wilko in Great Bridge, near Birmingham. Each box contained 30 used needles.

Volunteers and Sandwell Council staff came across the items during a sweep of the area.

Litter Watch, a community-led environmental charity based in Tipton, shared the news on their social media.

Credit: BPM Media

Alicia Wingfield, Chief Officer for Litter Watch, told BlackCountryLive: "We found it on the car park at the back of Wilko's off Great Bridge. Each black syringe box contained 30 syringes and there were around 500 boxes. All were used and we found them amongst other rubbish."

She added: "There's a huge problem in the area with street drinkers and drug users. We have been working on the nearby walkway, Fred Perry Walk, and removed over 1000 syringes from there, along with 300 bags of cans and bottles.

"Also, removed four tonnes of fly-tipping. The majority was removed by two Litter Watch volunteers."

Sandwell Council has been approached for comment.

Read more on: