A CHILD was left terrified after she stepped on a drug users’ needle in a supermarket car park.

Members of the community in Pitsea are calling for more to be done to remove the dangerous needles from the streets after one was found by the child at Aldi in Northlands Pavement.

Former Basildon councillor, Pat Rackley, 67, of Devonshire Road, Laindon, was horrified when she heard the news.

She said: “This was a problem years ago. I remember child found a needle and had picked it up near to their school.

“The issue is how do you stop it? There is nowhere in the area that I know of where people affected by addiction can go to safely get rid of their needles.

“These sorts of things affect not just the person taking those drugs; it affects the council, NHS and that child who could be seriously damaged by that needle.

“They could have to go to hospital, as you have no idea what could be it.”

Mrs Rackley added there is a need for more support to be given to drug users in the area to stop incidents such as this happening.

She said: “Drug problems are growing across the borough and it needs to be addressed to help people suffering from addiction.”

Labour councillor for Pitsea North West, Gavin Callaghan echoed Mrs Rackley’s view that there is a growing drug problem in Basildon.

He said: “We have had operations specifically in the Chalvedon estate to remove this kind of thing in the past.

“It reinforces the need to continue investment in the pride teams which were started last year.

“Basildon is badly in need of support for addicts of both drugs and alcohol, there are certain things that take place across the borough but they are nowhere near enough.

“We are seeing drugs coming into the borough from London at an alarming rate and there needs to be further work to stop this issue from growing even more.”