POLICE today refused to take the blame for not removing dirty syringes dumped in a street full of children.

Niki Taylor-Draper said she phoned North Yorkshire Police to get a container full of used needles moved from outside her home in New Church Terrace, Selby.

She said: "I was terrified to let my four-year-old daughter, Eden, out of the house. There are young kids living all along this street.

"I had tried to contact Selby District Council environmental services but I couldn't find a number, so I phoned the police.

"The woman I spoke to told me that there was nothing they could do because of personal risk to officers. There was nobody there who was properly trained to remove them.

"But surely the risk to small children playing far outweighs the risk to a policeman who knows what's in the bag?"

Mrs Taylor-Draper eventually found an emergency number for environmental services, who have now removed the needles.

But she said: "As far as the police were concerned, they could have stayed there until Monday, and that is disgraceful."

She said other needles had been discovered before, some on wasteland next to St James's Church - dumped, she claims, by users of a nearby needle exchange unit.

"I've actually seen my daughter try to pick up a canister containing them which had been thrown into a hedge," she said.

A police spokesman said today: "We get reports like this almost on a daily basis. If these needles had been found by children or were in the hands of kids, we would send an officer to pick them up.

"But these were in the safe hands of a responsible adult and I don't think we should have responded in those circumstances.

"I appreciate the points the woman is making, but should police officers be used as refuse collectors?

"We would not be the first line of response when needles are in the hands of a responsible adult."

A Selby Council spokesman confirmed they had removed a 'sharps' container from near St James's Church.

He said they had an environmental health officer on duty at weekends to deal with such issues.

Updated: 14:09 Monday, July 01, 2002