Mum warns of conker hunt needles danger
ASOUTHPORT mum wants to warn others after finding dirty needles in the bandstand area in front of the Vincent Hotel.
Healthcare assistant Danielle Vaughan 38, took her daughter, Tianni, five, to find some good conkers on Saturday when she noticed the dirty needles.
Danielle said: “I took Tianni to collect some conkers, like we do every year, by the fountain at The Vincent. It’s an excellent area for them and she was all excited, when I noticed a dirty needle on the floor.
“I then looked about and was disgusted to see five or six of them on the floor.”
Danielle was unsure what to do, as they were on the way to a party and she had to act quickly, as she didn’t want any children touching the needles.
She said: “I couldn’t believe they were just on the floor and there was a bin so close by. Not that they should really be in bins, but, at the time, it was better than on the floor.
“We’d just been toy shopping so had some empty toy boxes and plenty of bags for the conkers so I just started collecting them up in the boxes and then put them in the bin.
“I rang Sefton Council to tell them straight away and was worried about anyone who then came to collect the bins.
“The phone line was out of hours, though, so I rang first thing on Monday morning.” Danielle wanted to warn people of the potential danger to anyone who might be in the area in the future.
She said: “It’s just scary, because if Tianni had seen them before me she would have picked them up.
“There will be plenty of other people conker collecting in this area and people come to feed the birds so I just don’t want anyone touching them.
“There is no excuse to do it there anyway and the bin is literally there and there is a chemist not far around the corner too. Although they shouldn’t be in a public bin, it was better than the floor and surrounding public benches.”
A Sefton Council spokesman said: “As soon as we were made aware, we sent a cleaning unit to safely remove the needles to prevent any risk to the public.
“We regularly inspect and cleanse our parks and green spaces and will always act quickly to dispose of any harmful items as soon as they are discovered. We would like to thank residents for raising this issue and would ask anyone who discovers similar dangerous items in future to call 0345 140 0845 as soon as possible.”