Calls for new needle bin to tackle 'big' issue

Orton Waterville councillor Kirsty Knight said there needed to be a new needle bin to tackle a growing problem

A city councillor has called for a sharps bin to be installed in an area of Peterborough, following what she called a "big growing problem" with discarded needles.

Kirsty Knight, independent councillor for Orton Waterville, said the issue was particularly bad in and around Orton Brimbles, where used needles were being left in public spaces.

She has urged Labour-run Peterborough City Council to install a new bin, which she said would "make the community safer".

Zameer Ali, Labour cabinet member, said the useful feedback would "feed into our monitoring" of the area.

The city council said there were 15 sharps bins across the city.

Since their introduction in 2019, more than 2,600 needles have been deposited in them.

Knight said parish council members were picking many discarded needles each week.

"They are usually in alleyways and I think Orton Brimbles is the worst one," she said.

On Sunday, Knight said she collected needles left at a bus shelter in Napier Place in Orton Wistow, which was also vandalised.

"Vandalism in Orton Wistow has risen lately. The play park has been vandalised a few times as well," she said.

"This bus shelter is right outside the Wistow primary school. I am trained to collect sharps and have a sharps bin, so I went out and collected them myself.

"It was unusual to see needles in Wistow though. But there are other areas where it's a big issue and growing.

"It is heart-breaking as it makes the area look untidy and unsafe."

Kirsty Knight said it was "heart-breaking" to see the anti-social behaviour in the area

Previously, Harry Machin from the Peterborough Litter Wombles group said the needle bins had "made a difference" in some areas.

Ali, who is Peterborough City Council's cabinet member for communities, poverty and public health, said: "We regularly monitor needle finds across the city and use this data to determine locations for needle bins.

"We appreciate the feedback regarding needles in the Ortons and this will feed into our monitoring, so we can understand if there is a need for additional bins in the future and where they should be sited."