DISCARDED needles used by drug addicts are a major problem on Runcorn's Windmill Hill estate, the Halton Police Forum was told.

A representative from the area said children were in real danger of being infected.

He said police advice in the past has been to "put the needle in an empty bottle" and asked if the new beat bobby could carry a "sharps" box with him on the estate.

But Supt Peter Hindle suggested the discarding of used syringes was a social problem.

"Putting the needle in a bottle is actually sound advice," he said.

"No-one will prick themselves then as they do carry all kinds of diseases.

"But whose job is it to deal with this problem?

"The health authority putting these boxes at strategic locations on the estate is one way forward."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.