A GANG of teenage vandals climbed into an enclosed area of a hospital and put themselves and staff in “very real danger” - by scattering the contents of used “sharps” bins around the ground.

The abusive ten-strong group of 14 and 15-year-olds – girls and boys - swore at nurses before running off in different directions as police arrived at the Friary Hospital in Richmond.

Parents are being urged to come forward if they believe their child was part of the group – in case they ended up pricking themselves on the used needles.

The incident happened last Thursday night, March 5, after the teenagers scaled a gate at the back of the hospital.

The group ran off and took the yellow bins with them, leaving police and hospital staff with the painstaking task of retrieving the scattered needles to make the area safe.

PC Sue Dent said: “The contents of the sharps bins pose a very real risk of contamination and infection.

“The group would have been exposed to the needles and could possibly have been pricked by one - or while messing about they could very easily have hurt one another with them.”

She added: “It isn’t only the issue of the needles, but also the anti-social behaviour and trespassing on private property that we have to consider.

“The group were abusive, loud and swearing at the nurses who have a difficult job to do at the hospital - a group that size would have also caused a nuisance for local residents.”

She went on: “As the nights are getting lighter and warmer, I would urge parents to think – ‘do I know where my children are and what they are doing?’.

“And if a yellow sharps bin box has appeared in a bedroom, a garden or a shed find out where it came from and why.”