Housing association apologises for Sheffield garden where syringes, knife, broken glass and urine was found

Tenants at the Springfield Estate, on Egerton Close, Broomhall, were sickened to continually find syringes, broken glass and piles of rubbish dumped in their garden.

They even found a knife discarded and a drunk urinating where children play outside their homes.READ MORE: Sheffield families battle to clear syringes, knife, broken glass and urine in their garden

Charlie Ledger, a resident there, said it felt as though they were fighting an “impossible battle” to get their landlord Places for People to put measures in place to prevent it.

She said: “I have lost count of the number of syringes that I have personally removed, and I have cleared countless bags of broken glass and other rubbish.

“I have a young child, and my neighbours also have young children that play in our communal garden. So, I find it absolutely sickening to continually find items that pose a risk of harm to our children.

“Despite requests from ourselves and local councillors, Places for People refuse to install a fence around the property which would prevent many items from being so easily chucked into the garden, and they rarely send anyone to clean up items that have been dropped over the low metal railing that surrounds the garden.”

Since speaking out publicly, a spokesperson for Places for People apologised and promised to visit the neighbourhood today to clear up the garden and review how often it maintains it. But the housing association has not yet said if it will install a fence as requested.

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They said: “We are sorry for the condition of our communal garden at Egerton Close. We aim to provide homes and neighbourhoods which are safe and welcoming for our customers and communities. We have a team visiting the neighbourhood today (Friday 13 May) to clear and clean the garden and are reviewing how often we visit to ensure the communal garden is maintained. We are updating customers on our plans and welcome their feedback.”