A million needles handed to N.Wales drug users in year

NEARLY one million needles were handed out to drug users across North Wales in 12 months, shocking figures have revealed.

More than a quarter of those were in Wrexham during 2015/16, where many have ended up on the streets.

It has sparked concerns the town is facing a major problem with ‘drug litter’

For 2015/16, 254,453 were issued in Wrexham, 209,753 in Gwynedd, 163,022 in Flintshire, 135,792 in Denbighshire, 100,460 in Conwy and 82,148 on Anglesey, totalling 945,664 for North Wales.

And the figures, presented to a Wrexham council scrutiny commit- tee, showed the numbers of needles handed out to drug users for illicit use, has risen by 25% across North Wales since 2013/14.

The vast majority are given out by pharmacies as part of a programme to stop the potential spread of diseases should needles be shared among drug users.

But Wrexham councillors at the scrutiny committee, agreed to draw up an action plan to deal with the growing ‘drug litter’ around the town, which is endangering the public and creating no-go zones for people.

Drug-related litter includes needles, foils, swabs, spoons, plastic bottles and cans, discarded clothes, mattresses, other belongings, faeces, vomit and urine.

The issue has been in the media spotlight in Wrexham recently, with reports of makeshift camps, squalid conditions and needles found scattered around the town.

Cllr Carol O’Toole, who chaired a “Please come along and see what it’s all about. Hear what goes on and then visit the station at Point Lynas and see the watch keepers on duty.

“If you do not wish to be a watch keeper but can help in other ways you can join the Friends of NCI Point Lynas group for supporters and friends who are able to assist NCI Point Lynas in other ways.” task and finish group to examine the issue, said: “We are all aware of the problems of discarded needles and drugs litter are causing.”

She added: “Substance misuse and the problems that cause it is an exceedingly complex problem”.

A report to the scrutiny committee said there were “effects on communities’ morale, public perception of crime and community safety in certain wards” which also resulted in reduced opportunities for adults and children to use parks and public spaces.

Some councillors were concerned needles were handed out with no controls on how many and no way of identifying where they were issued.

Councillors agreed to back a plan to tackle the issue.

It included lobbying the Welsh Government and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for more funds to clean up ‘drug litter’ and a bid to the Substance Misuse Area Planning Board for extra cash to tackle the problem.

Councillors also want to set up a “single point of responsibility” to coordinate action, have greater co-operation between agencies to analyse “hotspots”and more ways for the public to report discarded syringes..

Cllr O’Toole added: “Some of the hotspots are too big for Streetscene to deal with quickly and effectively and we might need to bring in an outside cleaning agency.

“We need to deal with hotspots and clean them up quickly, this is very important.”