DRUGS needles have been found dumped in the filthy stairwell of a Swindon car park. About 30 used syringes were found alongside broken wine bottles and blankets in a fire escape at the Fleming Way multi-story car park, next to Debenhams.

Margaret Clark, who made the discovery while on a shopping trip on Tuesday, said it looked like the needles and other waste had been there for some time.

The 61-year-old nurse from Covingham said: "I work at the hospital so I see a lot of things but this left me absolutely horrified.

"None of it can be touched without protective clothing.

"If a child happened to open the door to the fire escape and come down, or if there was a fire and someone used the escape, they could fall on a needle and get HIV.

"As awful as it is, someone has to be responsible for cleaning it up.

"I pay a considerable amount of council tax but one does wonder why nothing is done to protect the people and children of this town."

Swindon Council, which runs the car park, said it was doing all it could to keep the town clean of drug waste.

"All Swindon Council car parks are regularly patrolled and cleaned and we try to respond as quickly as possible to any problems that people report," said spokesman Tony Foss.

"Unlike many of our other car parks, we can't lock up the Fleming Way one at night because it is used by guests at the nearby hotel and it provides an emergency access route to other town centre buildings."

Mr Foss said anyone finding used syringes in car parks or other public places should avoid touching them and call the council on 01793 464168.

Drug syringes are currently given free to addicts to prevent the sharing of needles and the spread of hepatitis and HIV.

David Cork of Drug Link, a support group for users based in Old Town, said: "We encourage everyone who uses our service to return our syringes and by and large we get a very good return rate."

Last year 75 per cent of its needles were returned.

Mr Cork said it was likely the needles were left in the car park by a small number of users.

The vast majority would be disappointed to hear about this incident because it would reflect badly on them, he said.

Drug Link encourages users to dispose of their needles in a bin at the back of its office in Victoria Road, which is accessible 24 hours a day.

"There should be no reason why people are leaving them in car parks," he said.

Andy Tate