Needless claim under fire

A report claiming Cumbernauld has seen a drastic 150 per cent increase in the number of drug users’ needles found on local streets has been rubbished by the council.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Apr 2014, 16:37 BST
Soccer ballSoccer ball
Soccer ball

A national news online report said the figures followed a freedom of information enquiry.

But a spokesman for \North Lanarkshire Council said the issue had been “grossly misrepresented” because of the way the facts obtained had been reported, with no further explanation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “Four instances were reported by the public in 2012 and 10 during 2013. In two, one in each year, nothing was found.

“Reports of discarded needles are treated very seriously and acted on as soon as possible.”

The small number of case used in the sample are said to mean the information in the report didn’t give a true picture of the situation.

A spokesperson for NHS Lanarkshire said: “Our harm reduction service receives drug litter removal notifications from North Lanarkshire Council and responds to these as soon as they come in.

“We are not aware of any problem with drug litter in Cumbernauld.”

Related topics:North Lanarkshire Council