'The council are failing children' - Dozens of drug needles littered close to Sheffield primary school and playground

This is the state of a one part of Sheffield close to a primary school and a children's playground.
The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin BrightonThe mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton

This is the state of a one part of Sheffield close to a primary school and a children's playground.

Used drug needles, empty booze bottles and even human faeces are seen scattered on land off Gell Street and Conway Street in Sheffield city centre.

The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin BrightonThe mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
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Martin Brighton, of Lowedges, said he stumbled across the mess after looking at empty units for possible community space last week.

He said the council are 'failing children' after the local authority allegedly told him they couldn't do any thing because 'it's on private land' close to Springfield Primary and playground.

He said: "My first thought was complete shock. The sample of photos only show part of the bigger problem - it's in fact much worse.

"I couldn't believe the quantity of material here. This area has clearly been used by users on a long term basis and all of this is open to the public so close to a school and a kids playground.

The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin BrightonThe mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
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"I did what I hope any law-abiding citizen would do and I reported it to the council straight away but I did expect the council to tell me they couldn't do anything about it because it's on private land. They're failing children in this regard."

The council sent a team out to clear the mess before responding to a request for a comment and added they could not find a record of Mr Brighton's complaint.

A Sheffield Council spokesperson said: "Our Environmental Services do not have a record of Mr Brighton contacting us about this matter and this is something we’re looking into.

"However it is simply not the case that we do not care about dangerous items on private land. As soon as we were told of the complaint we sent our officers out immediately and they cleared the area.

The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin BrightonThe mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
The mess off Gell Street: Picture: Martin Brighton
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"We will be speaking to the land owner advising them of their responsibilities and to ask that action is taken to stop this happening again. We encourage anyone to report serious waste issues to us and to be as specific as possible about the location.”

If you need to report the issue of drug paraphernalia or any other matter to the council visit their website