A RESIDENT has voiced fears for public safety after drugs paraphernalia fell off a wheelie bin during a fortnightly collection in Musselburgh.

The man, who did not want to be named, said that the refuse collectors started to empty “overfull” green bins on Links Avenue when the incident happened between 9am and 10am last Wednesday.

He told the Courier: “As [a refuse collector] took one [of the wheelie bins] into the road, a bag which was on the top fell on to the road and spread everywhere.”

He claimed that its contents – four syringes, needles and other plastic paraphernalia associated with drug taking – were left floating in a puddle at the kerbside.

He said the refuse collectors must have realised what it was and “shoved it aside”.

“The last thing they are going to do is pick it up. I rang up East Lothian Council and I should think the men reported it as well,” he said.

He added: “The council obviously got someone out pretty quickly as it was all cleared up by lunchtime.

“A lot of young families live in the area and children use the street to get to school. What if a child had run across the road and splashed in the puddle?

“It’s not far from Fisherrow Links, where there are lots of people with their dogs. I think it is very dangerous, not just for the public, but also the refuse collectors themselves. It is concerning that stuff like that is just getting shoved in with the rubbish.”

A council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of this incident and are making further enquiries. What happens if an incident like this occurs is the crew report any needles found immediately to their supervisors and are trained not to touch the items.

“We have a protocol on the safe collection and disposal of drug-related litter which means our community wardens deal with this, as they are specially trained to ensure these items are safely collected and disposed of as soon as possible after an incident is reported to them, and certainly on the same day.”

She could not say if the items were related to illegal drug-taking, adding: “That’s part of our investigation. We can’t say either way just now.”