A syringe that appeared to contain a substance was found dropped in the street in High Wycombe – prompting outrage from residents who say nothing is being done to solve the problem.

The shocking discovery was made in Green Street on January 13 by Pedro Santiago, who called the police immediately – but they said they “couldn’t do anything about it”.

Mr Santiago said: “This is not the first time this has happened. There are kids walking around the streets there and if something happened to any of these kids, then whose fault is it? The council? The police? Of course not. We need something to be done.”

It comes amid recognition of the problem with antisocial behaviour and drug-taking in the town centre by the new boss of HWBIDCo - an organisation representing businesses in the town centre.

Melanie Williams took up the role in November last year – and at a High Wycombe town committee meeting on Tuesday, she recognised that some parts of the town centre are “a bit horrifying”.

She said: “There are lots of issues. The state of Dovecote car park and how it is being used [is one of them] - you are lucky not to get high just from coming down in the lift. We are seeing a lot more syringes around the town. There have been a lot of people rough sleeping.”

Former resident, Tom Goldsmith, who moved out of the town at the end of 2018, said when he was living in Station Road he would notice the “odd discarded syringe” around Birdcage Walk.

He added: “Sometime later, I noticed a multitude of them in and around that vicinity, especially towards Totteridge Road. It appears that the issue is ongoing, and the council has been doing very little to resolve this issue.”

Ms Williams says she hopes to start “regular walkabouts” with the authorities in a bid to “tidy it up a bit” and discourage antisocial behaviour.

Sue Robinson, a spokesman for Wycombe District Council, said they are working closely with police to tackle all kinds of antisocial behaviour “head on”.

She said: “The council’s street cleansing teams are vigilant and trained to deal with discarded syringes safely. The council logs incidents reported by the public and our contractors are expected to respond in a matter of hours to remove such items.

“Thames Valley Police are working hard to disrupt and prevent those taking and dealing illegal drugs on the streets of Wycombe and take reports of such incidents seriously.

“Members of the local community are our eyes and ears on the ground and we ask for your co-operation in tackling the misuse of drugs in public.”

To report concerns about syringes, call the antisocial behaviour team 01494 421 087.