Letter: Drug needles left in toilets

Wednesday 12th August 2009, 7:00AM BST.

needleLETTER: I went into the men’s public conveniences in Whitchurch on Thursday, August 7, and was shocked and frightened when I went into one of the cubicles to see human excrement on the floor and worse still a number of used hypodermic needles.

It is obvious people are using these toilets to inject heroin intravenously and leaving behind the evidence for anyone to see.

They (heroin users) are totally irresponsible. A child could have easily picked up one of these needles out of curiosity and accidentally pricked themselves.

These drug users could be HIV positive and that child would then be infected and be given a death sentence.

These are the only public conveniences in Whitchurch and the nearest other toilets are the Tesco store, which are always clean. I will never again use these public conveniences after what I saw.

I will be informing Whitchurch police of what I saw and photographed in this cubicle. I will be sending them a picture as proof of what I was unfortunate enough to see.

I think a CCTV camera should be positioned outside the public conveniences to monitor who is entering and leaving.

I would not be surprised if drug dealing is also taking place as well.

I detest street drugs because I know the misery they cause. The drug dealers at the top of the tree are making large amounts of money, they don’t take drugs themselves. They just profit from them and get others to do their dirty work.

Why are the police not targeting these drug dealers and seizing their property, cars, houses, mobile phones, jewellery, money etc, and putting them in prison for a long time?

Name and address supplied


  1. 1
    Joe

    A distressing story – discarded needles can cause injury of course. But I do want to reassure your correspondent and readers that there is no risk of HIV infection from a discarded needle. HIV does not survive for more than a few seconds outside the body and there has never worldwide been a cse of someone being infected with HIV by a needle discarded in this way.

    It is also not true to say that HIV infection is a ‘death sentence’. Treatment is now very effective and people with HIV are living into old age. It remains of course a very serious long-term condition.

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  2. 2
    Andrew finch

    Police are arresting drug dealers etc, and then the cps prossecute and the courts dish out jail sentences of a few years. Goods are confiscated the crim comes out after serving half a sentence and does it all over again.

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  3. 3
    Laura

    This makes Whitchurch sound like a Drugs haven! Whitchurch is a lovely town and I hope people don’t get the wrong impression as I think this really is a one off. Please, ‘name and address supplied’ appreciate Whitchurch.

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  4. 4
    Florence

    It is true that HIV does not survive for very long on “old” blood, however Hepatitits does and can be just as deadly if left untreated.

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