Oswestry Town Mayor has said the discovery of used drug paraphernalia on a main town street is "disappointing".

At the beginning of the month a gentleman contacted the Advertizer after he found a used drug needle on Bailey Street in Oswestry.

He alerted Oswestry Town Council, who passed the information on to Shropshire Council's streetscene team, who are equipped to dispose of drug paraphernalia.

Councillor Vince Hunt said the incident was 'unforgivable'.

"It is disappointing that someone was willing to risk the health of other people by leaving such a dangerous object in the middle of a busy street," said Cllr Hunt.

"It's a careless discarding of a very dangerous item. This is particularly bad as no one knows what it's been used for, yet it could be that a child falls on to it – an incident like that would be unforgivable.

"I am happy that the office staff at Oswestry Town Council dealt the matter appropriately. There are programmes in town which mean that paraphernalia is discarded in the right way, however this incident is disappointing."

Tracy Ryan, Safer Neighbourhood Team Inspector for Oswestry, said: "Thankfully incidents such as this are rare in Oswestry thanks to on-going work with with Shropshire Recovery Partnership and pharmacies.

"While it is a hazardous waste issue and the responsibility of the local authority, rather than a criminal matter, on this occasion a PCSO was available to assist with safely recovering the item. All such incidents should be reported to the council in the first instance."

Carmen Eccleston, Shropshire Council’s streetscene manager, said: “It’s important to stress that any sightings of needles or drugs paraphernalia left on public land should be reported to Shropshire Council immediately by calling our customer service centre on 0345 678 9006, rather than the temptation to report them via, for instance, social media.

“Hazardous litter such as drug paraphernalia is treated with urgency when it is reported to us, and we always remove it as soon as possible.”