A DISCARDED syringe found in a busy Barrow street has been labelled as disrespectful by a local councillor.

A used and dirty syringe was found on a small patch of ground that connects Abbey Road to the Evening Mail car park in High Street.

In a week where Cumbria police celebrated successful prosecutions of three drug offenders the discovery was a reminder of the challenges facing the town.

Barrow Borough Council spokesman for health and safety Councillor Des Barlow acknowledged used syringes had been a problem in the town for several years.

He said: "Over a period of years there have been people who have left their syringes around the place. I've heard a lot of people lately that have seen some in the past year. People shouldn't be doing that."

Do you think enough is done to keep our streets clean of dirty needles?

In May 2014 the Evening Mail reported on a beach clean up in Walney where more than 60 syringes and other sharp objects were collected from the shore.

Discarded syringes pose a great risk to the public who come across them. Diseases such as Hepatitis A, B and HIV are communicable through used needles.

In Barrow there are several needle exchanges schemes run from pharmacies to cut down on the number of discarded syringes.

Cllr Barlow said if people had to use needles, they should take advantage of this service.

He said: "If they've got to use needles, the needle exchange is there."

Council advice for the public if they come across a needle is do not attempt under any circumstances to deal with it themselves.

The borough council, in collaboration with contractor Biffa run a needle collection operation to safely dispose of them.

Needles can be reported to the council by phone or online, and will be collected on the same day by a refuse collector.

Click here for information on what to do if you find a discarded syringe.

Although this service is available, Cllr Barlow still remains frustrated that people continue to drop needles.

He said: "It's a matter of people respecting people. Nobody seems to respect things these days, it annoys me."

For information on drugs and how to get help, visit Talk to Frank .

Read more:

A warning issued to walkers after needles found washed up on a Walney beach

Barrow residents speak of the drugs hell that is afflicting their community