Mum finds bag of used syringes, heroin and condoms in home attic
HOUSING ASSOCIATION APOLOGY
A HOUSING association has been forced to issue a public apology to a young mother after she found a bin bag containing used syringes, condoms and a heroin spoon in the attic of her Leicester home.
Single mum-of-two Megan Wall had been preparing to pack for a weekend trip away to Skegness with her daughters - aged four and six months - when she made the horrific discovery.
The 23-year-old tenant, who moved into the property in the Calver Hey Road area of Beaumont Leys two years ago, said she was “shocked and disgusted”.
“It was absolutely horrific,” she said. “It was disgusting and I feared for the safety of me and my young daughters.”
The grim find was made weeks ago. However, it wasn’t until the Mercury contacted Megan’s landlord – PA Housing – that the firm offered her an apology.
She said: “Recently, I decided to take my children on a getaway for a few days and had asked a friend to go inside my attic for our suitcases to pack our items.
“But while they were up there he noticed a black bin bag and asked if it was mine before throwing it down to me. As he was lowering it down he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his leg and, as I caught the bag, I felt a sharp pinch on my hand so I dropped the bag, at which point all the items fell out my bathroom floor.
“In the bag there were used and unused needles, condoms, a heroin spoon, heroin on a silver foil, drug packaging and many more disgusting items.
“I couldn’t believe it. Fortunately, the needles hadn’t pierced the skin on my hand or the leg of my friend.”
The drama unfolded at about 9.30pm on a Friday night, with Megan and her children due to travel early the next morning. “I phoned PA Housing straight away and I pleaded with them to come out and dispose of the bag and its contents,” she said. “The woman told me over the phone nobody could come out until the next working day.
“I asked if it could be sooner as all these items was left on my bathroom floor which my four-year-old daughter and myself would need to use, to which she responded nothing could be done.
“I then said I would phone the police to help as this was out of order for me to be left with – as a new tenant moving in I would have thought the flat and attic would have been cleared.”
Megan said neighbours had said, when she was moving in, there had been issues with drugs use at the property. “They described it as a ‘ crack house’,” she said.
“Finding all this disgusting stuff made me feel so uncomfortable. I was scared for mine and my daughters’ safety and had no support from my housing association. My friend or I could have caught hepatitis or something – or what if my daughter had been in the bathroom at the time.”
Megan was unhappy PA Housing, who did remove the bag, failed to return her calls as promised or give her an apology. “This should never have been left here, let alone for us to sort out,” she said. “No-one called me back or came round to make sure the attic was safe and clear.
“I am appalled by the lack of support from my housing association.”
Megan did receive a visit from a representative of PA Housing on Wednesday, September 16, who carried out a check of the property and she was offered £100 in compensation.