MORE than 30 needles were found behind a church in Newport last week.

Paul Murphy, of community group Pride in Pill, was carrying out a litter pick in the Pill area of the city when he found 35 used needles at the back of the New Seasons Church, off Comercial Road and Francis Drive, on Wednesday. 

He said a previous clean, around Christmas, found 60 needles there.

“Something needs to be done,” added Mr Murphy, who says he took the needles to the police station. “There was blood inside one of them.

“If a kid picked one of the needles up, it could have been really bad.”

It comes after a former councillor for the area, Laura Buchanan-Smith, called it a “nightmare” last summer, over a similar matter.

Mr Murphy did say he felt there had been some improvement across Pill as a whole recently though.

“We don’t find as many needles in as many different places as we used to but they seem to be concentrated as the back of the church,” he said.

Gwent Police have said they will continue to target the area to combat illegal drugs use and supply.

A spokeswoman for the force said: “Our neighbourhood policing team regularly monitor the area and if they discover any such paraphernalia whilst out on patrol, they would immediately undertake enquiries and take action to ensure the area was safe to all members of the public.”

The spokeswoman also said officers would make contact with their partners within the local authority so they can attend and dispose of the items safely. 

She added: “We understand the concerns of residents and would encourage anyone who comes across such material or anyone who has any information about illegal drug activity in their area to contact us on 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”