Children find unclean syringe on cricket pitch
An Invercargill woman says she is disgusted after her daughter found a used syringe, with the needle still attached, on one of the city’s cricket pitches.
Darnielle Bishop’s daughter Aaliyah was walking across the field at the Appleby Cricket Club on Tuesday with her cousin when they found the needle and syringe.
They went home and returned with Bishop, who put the syringe in a jar before taking it home to dispose of it.
‘‘It was absolutely disgusting. It was full of some kind of dark brown liquid. I don’t know if it’s blood or not . . .
‘‘Each to their own, but I’m so disgusted that someone in Invercargill could be so careless, leaving something like this on fields for children and animals to stand on.’’
Bishop then had to explain to her 11-year-old daughter and 12-year-old niece why the syringe being left out in the open was wrong.
‘‘The one time I give the girls some responsibility and let them go on their own and this happens. We shouldn’t have to walk with our kids everywhere because of things like this.
‘‘I’ve never seen anything like this in my life and I had no idea what to do with it.’’
She also put a post on social media and Neighbourly to warn people to be careful where they were walking.
Appleby Cricket Club president Greg Munro said the incident was ‘‘interesting’’ and as far as he knew it had never happened before.
The club maintains the wicket block at the ground and the Invercargill City Council mowed the outfield once or twice a week.
‘‘We haven’t played on it for a few weeks and it’ll be a week or two yet before we play on it again because we take a break for Christmas.
‘‘It’s not good.’’
A Southland Hospital spokesperson said people who found needles or syringes should only touch them if they were wearing gloves, and should put them in a shatterproof container.
‘‘If you don’t have gloves or a container call the police – not by calling 111 – but they will come and remove them and dispose of them properly.’’
A Southland Harm Reduction spokesperson said containers to dispose of needles and syringes were available from its office on Spey St.