A POLITICIAN has called for action after a haul of hypodermic needles were found at a sea-front shelter.

Anna Turley wrote to Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger after the drug paraphernalia was discovered in a public shelter close to Redcar beach just weeks after four-year-old Riley Ashton-Swift pricked himself on needles discarded in a Loftus playpark.

Redcar’s MP said she was alarmed about “the worrying proliferation of hypodermic needles at public locations across Redcar and Cleveland in recent weeks.”

She said: “I would like to know what Cleveland Police are doing to ensure that drug users do not continue to put the public at risk by discarding needles and other drug paraphernalia.

“It is not acceptable that needles are left lying around where anyone could find them, especially children.”

Ms Turley added: “Whilst I recognise that police and local authority resources are stretched by Conservative government cuts, we must be able to protect our public spaces and ensure they are safe and clean.”

The politician also highlighted the rising use of heroin around the North-East, which reportedly has the highest rate of death from drug misuse in England and Wales.

She asked Mr Coppinger to advise her of the police response “at the earliest convenience” and said: “We cannot allow drug use and the crime it drives to damage our communities.”

The needles discovered in the shelter were cleared by council street cleaning teams.