A mum has spoken of her horror after her son stood on a used drugs needle as he played on a Southend beach.

As e have discussed many time previously on the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum, needles and syringes discarded onto sand are perhaps most dangerous of all. They sink into the sand to sit unseen, just below the surface, waiting for some unsuspecting passer-by, enjoying a barefoot walk along the sand.

Southend is a recognised drug hotspot and thus the problem must be worse there than in many other regions. The Local Authority are particularly active in litter management and checks for drug litter. Perhaps as addicts congregate in the evenings on or around the beach in the hope of some quite time away from the eyes of Police and others who might move them on the predictability of drug litter is high.

Perhaps a secure sharps bin might help? In some areas, these have been particularly successful, but who wants their holiday snaps to include a beach front adorned with sharps bins? And nobody wants a life-changing and possibly fatal viral infection as their holiday souvenir.