Mum 'felt sick' after a game of hide-and-seek with her son, 3, turned sour
A mum felt "sick" after finding needles littered across a park while playing hide-and-seek with her toddler.
Jordan Ramsay said she was "ashamed" that Pilriig Park in Edinburgh, Scotland, was a "drug hideaway" after making the grim discovery just yards from the children's play area on Sunday. The 31-year-old went into a panic as a day out with her son, three, turned sour when she found him lying on top of an exposed needle in the park's woods.
Locals in the city's Bonnigton area have now branded the situation as "disgusting" and "inconsiderate" after Jordan reported her finds to the city council. Images taken by Jordan, from Leith, show needles lying in a variety of areas of the park, which is accessed just off the popular Leith Walk.
One distressing image shows two blue needles sitting atop wet leaves whilst another shows a needle next to a root of a tree. A further picture shows a needle nestled amongst the fallen leaves of the trees around, next to a crushed Irn-Bru can.
The park borders the local primary school Bun-sgoil Taobh na Pairce with parents often using the nearby facilities for exercise with their children, including the playpark. Jordan shared the grim images to social media on Wednesday with the caption: "Please be aware Pilrig Park, the wooded areas surrounding it are full of used needles."
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Jordan found needles in Pilrig Park"Contacted council but for anyone who walks their dogs or even has children who like to play in the woods like mine – my son was playing hide and seek and ended up on top of one. Luckily he's fine but it's just not the safest at all, it made me sick."
Her post received dozens of likes and comments from locals who backed Jordan's stance on the park being used as a makeshift drug den. One said: "Absolutely disgusting." Another added: "Wow, that's a lot of needles, how inconsiderate for people who walk around there with kids and pets."
A third replied: "I remember when we used to have parkies who patrolled their parks and kept the place clean and warned off troublemakers. Do they still exist in some parks or are they another unaffordable expense?"
Jordan told EdinburghLive: "On Sunday, my partner and I went out on a walk with our three-year-old son. Pilrig is our local big park, so we always visit here, my son likes to play in the woods surrounding the park as there are lots of wee trees to climb and he sees it as an adventure.
Jordan's son lay over an exposed needle"We noticed whilst walking through the woods next to the Gaelic school that there was an open needle on the ground, and we presumed it had been used. We left that area quickly and continued on the walk around the park. This is when we found more and more. My son was running and began to play hide and seek and when I approached him, he was laying down behind a log.
"He got up and there was a used needle beneath him, I panicked and quickly checked him over. He was wearing quite a few layers of clothing as it was cold so luckily, he was fine and not harmed. We continued to find several more used needles of all different types, so we took photos of the evidence to report to Edinburgh Council.
"It made us feel so sick and ashamed that our local park was being treated this way and the fact that whoever is using drugs in the area had no regard for others who regularly walk here, especially children. Dogs as well could so easily injure themselves, it's disgusting in my opinion and there is no excuse for it."
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said: "We want our parks to be safe and clean spaces for everyone to enjoy, so it's disappointing to hear this news. Our teams are working hard to clear this area, and we're also in touch with partners at the Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership - including Police Scotland, and the local group Friends of Pilrig Park."
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