Shock as needles found on football pitch
SHOCKED Sunday league soccer team chiefs had to clear a clutch of abandoned needles and syringes from a town playing field.
The debris was discovered on Earl Shilton’s Weavers Springs rec as officials inspected the pitch area ready for the match between home side Topps FC and Tin Hat.
Joe Steane, from Topps FC, said he shuddered to think what might have happened if the needles had not been spotted.
He said: “It’s standard practice to go round and inspect the pitch before a match, which is what I did. I came across the first needle in the goal mouth and then another one with a syringe further out.
“It’s the first time we have ever come across anything like this, and hopefully it will be the last. There are lots of children, including mine, who play on the park, it’s not just the footballers who could have been at risk.
“If we hadn’t spotted it, someone could have fallen on it and I dread to think what might have come out of that. This is our home pitch and is the closest one to the children’s play area, that was our big concern.
“I think we were all shocked and disgusted to have found something like that and we will be extra vigilant in future but it’s terrible that you have to be on your guard.”
The parks in Earl Shilton are the responsibility of the town council. Mark Jackson, town clerk, said they had received no reports about possible drug paraphernalia on the pitches, adding if information comes in they pass on details to the police and ask for support from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council to safely dispose of any sharps.