A three-year-old boy stepped on a bloodied syringe just two metres from his back door.
Mother-of-two Sara Compton has branded the find as "disgusting", after Jacob stepped on the drug-user's discarded item as they left their block of flats in Hunwicke Road, Greenstead, Colchester.
Now council officers have vowed to set up an action group to stop vandals creating a run-down haven for addicts.
Lucky - Sara Compton with three-year-old Jacob Wilson Picture: SEANA HUGHES
The incident has left the worried parent thanking her lucky stars that a needle was not attached to the offending article.
She said: "It is absolutely disgusting because, in an area like this, they know there are children about. It is appalling, it really is.
"He had trainers on but they are only flimsy. If there had been a needle there it would have gone through the sole."
The 26-year-old single mum said the condition of the council-owned flats made it attractive to passing drug-users.
Phil Adams, Colchester Council's housing operations manager, said a task team made up of residents, police and council officers is being created to look at solutions.
He said Jacob was not injured and the syringe was cleared up within two hours of his mother's complaint.
Published Friday October 18, 2002
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