A COMMUNITY safety officer in the Falls have expressed shock after a group of children discovered used hypodermic needles in the Dunville Park.
The needles were found alongside a 'cooking kit' – used to dissolve drugs or intravenous use – inside the park's iconic fountain last Friday.
A spoon used to dissolve drugs
Youth workers were alerted to the danger by group of 12-year-olds who were playing in the park.
Lisa Lynn, a Community Safety Officer with the Communities in Transition Programme, described the find as "horrendous".
"Thankfully the kids were quick to contact youth workers who came up and got the kids away," she said.
"They got them out of the road with a litter picker because the kids were quite curious and were climbing in and out of the fountain. They then contacted ourselves and we contacted the Council Sharps Team."
Ms Lynn said Council staff removed up to 12 needles, and associated paraphernalia, from the park.
Parts of the Lower Falls and Grosvenor areas have increasingly become blighted by discarded needles, however, Ms Lynn believes Friday's find is a first for the Dunville Park.
"A couple of the kids who were there said that three men and two women were in the park after 10 the night before, and they were actually quite abusive to the kids," she said. "There were also strips of tablets left lying there so it could've been a lot worse.
"It's very concerning because so many young kids and families play in the park, especially around the fountain."
She added: "We've been in touch with the Council who have put it on their route to do walk-throughs and we have asked for patrols of police later on in the evening."
