By Alan Richardson

A SICKENED Perth pensioner has blasted the local council after being told he would have to pay to have a discarded syringe removed from his garden.

Angus Campbell (69) was horrified to find the needle in the shared garden of his Gray Street home yesterday morning, but his horror turned to anger when he called the council to have it uplifted.

He said, “I initially called the police and they told me to phone environmental health.

“I did that and couldn’t believe it when they said they would get someone to call me back to tell me how much it would cost.

“I said ‘there’s no way I’m paying for that’ and the lady said, ‘well there’s nothing we can do for you then’.”

Mr Campbell, who has no idea how the needle came to be in the garden of a respectable Perth street, said he previously would have dealt with the matter himself by placing it in a bin, but has become more cautious due to recent publicity.

He said, “We keep being told not to put things like that in bins and not to touch them if you see them lying but why should a person reporting it have to pay?

“Imagine I put it in a bin and then the bin man was spiked by it, who would be to blame then?

“It’s an absolute disgrace that the council have basically said they’ll do nothing about it—it beggars belief.”

Mr Campbell has left the needle where he found it but was concerned a young child who stays in one of the flats sharing the garden could be hurt, so covered it with some pots.

He went on, “That child was out on the back green yesterday and it was being supervised but it only takes a second for something tragic to happen.”

An authority spokesperson defended the stance, saying, “The council is responsible for disposing of items such as syringes when they are found on common ground or in public places. However the council cannot be held responsible for clearing and disposing of waste which is on private property.

“A charge is levied if a request is received by a private property owner to clear and dispose of waste on their property.

“Our staff are available to give advice on how best to dispose of such items if they are found on private property.”