By Alesha Capone
ALARMED homeowners along the Princes Highway in Werribee have said they are too scared to venture into their gardens in case they stand on dumped syringes.
Residents also reported seeing people shooting up drugs along the median strip outside their houses on a weekly basis.
Last week, Star saw several syringes scattered on the median strip between the Princes Highway and a service road out the front of people’s homes.
“I live up near the (Werribee Mercy) Hospital and I’ve had nothing but trouble with syringes,” a resident said.
The resident also said she witnessed people taking drugs on the median strip about once a week.
“We see them outside our window shooting up in the bushes and then they drive off,” she said.
The woman, who asked not be named, said she has a tin to collect syringes in.
“I’ve rung the council numerous times and they’ve called me back saying, ‘Where are they?’ and they have been blind because they’re everywhere, so we took them up and down the street and showed them which bushes they were under,” she said.
The resident said a regular patrol to clean up the syringes would be useful, rather than people ringing the council to collect dumped needles.
“A regular patrol would be good, especially on Monday mornings because there seem to be more needles after the weekend,” she said.
Another resident said: “My partner went to do work in the garden four times across the past four months and each time he found a syringe.
“We’re just too scared to go out in the garden now.”
The mother said she thought some of the needles discarded in the street were being provided through a public syringe program at Werribee Mercy Hospital.
Many residents have removed taps from their front gardens, as people taking drugs often tried to obtain water from them.
Wyndham council CEO Kerry Thompson said: “The City undertakes regular patrols for litter within the municipality, this includes patrolling for syringes. If a problem area is identified within the municipality, then additional steps will be taken to alleviate the problem
“Reports of syringe pick-ups in Wyndham is similar, and in many cases less than other metropolitan regions.
“The most common place that syringes are found dumped is on nature strips and surrounding car parks.”
She advised residents who see dumped syringes to contact 9742 0777.
A Werribee Mercy Hospital spokeswoman said they have offered a “public Needle and Syringe Program on behalf of the Department of Health for the past 15 years”. “Needle and syringe programs have been shown to be an important preventative measure in reducing the transmission of blood-borne diseases in the community,” she said.
