A Moray mum has hit out after finding hypodermic needles discarded beside a school in Elgin.
The syringes have been discovered on the school run to New Elgin Primary on a number of occasions in recent weeks.
They were spotted by Sandra Mone, who lives near the school and regularly goes on walks with her eighteen-month-old granddaughter and dog.
She said the route was popular with children walking with school and warned that anyone could have found the needles and picked them up.
Ms Mone said the regularity with which she had spotted them should be a concern to any parent.
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“I was angered and disgusted when I saw them,” she said.
“My main worry is that with so many kids passing on their way to and from school they could find them and pick them up.
“I go out walking with my granddaughter and she kicks through the leaves but we now don’t know what could lie beneath them.
“It’s a huge concern and it’s a worry for any parent as someone could be pricked by these needles.”
Ms Mone lives on Milnefield Avenue and made the first discovery on November 13 as she walked her dog on the old cemetery approach near to New Elgin Primary School.
She then found two further needles last week in separate incidents and at a similar location and contacted both the police and Moray Council’s Environmental Health department.
She said: “It’s quite a secluded area with a lot of dog walkers and kids always walking past but you don’t know what happens there at night.
“The police, Moray Council and the primary school are all aware of it now.”
A Moray Council spokeswoman said: “We encourage anyone who discovers a needle, whether used or unused, to report this to us immediately so we can arrange for the safe uplift and disposal of it.
“We have not received any reports of needles being found at Milnefield Avenue.
“If we receive reports of needles repeatedly being found in the same location, preventative action can be carried out at the location in the form of signs encouraging responsible disposal.”
A Moray Council spokeswoman said: “We encourage anyone who discovers a needle, whether used or unused, to report this to us immediately so we can arrange for the safe uplift and disposal of it.
“We have not received any reports of needles being found at Milnefield Avenue.
“If we receive reports of needles repeatedly being found in the same location, preventative action can be carried out at the location in the form of signs encouraging responsible disposal.”