Scotland's fix room bosses post adverts at needle dumping grounds as locals say community is now ‘warzone'
BOSSES at Scotland's fix room are advertising their services at needle dumping grounds as locals again blast authorities over claims their community has been turned into a "warzone".
Posters have been put up urging users to attend the controversial Thistle Centre rather than inject on the street.
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Residents living near the The Thistle in Glasgow are outraged over a spike in needle litter in the area
Credit: PA
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A patch of waste ground in the Calton has become a drug den filled with needles and other drug paraphernalia
Credit: Tom Farmer
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Laminated posters for The Thistle have been stuck up around the area
Credit: Tom Farmer
And new bins to discard used needles have also been installed by officials in Glasgow's Calton area where locals are up in arms over the state of the area.
The Thistle aims to tackle the shocking number of drug deaths in Scotland but has been criticised by people living in the area who have complained about junkie waste in surrounding streets and an increase in antisocial behaviour.
Former council worker Vanessa Paton told Sky News: 'It is getting worse. The new room has appeared, and the problems have escalated with it.
"It's a no-go warzone every day and night. The area's becoming a toilet.
"That is the harsh reality of it.'
And local resident Angela Scott said: 'It's become a lot worse. It's heightened.
"I'm scared that if I am picking up my dog's dirt, am I going to prick a needle?
"Am I going to end up with an infection that a lot of drug addicts tend to have because they are sharing needles?
"I don't want to pick up something infectious.'
The facility was opened in January this year and welcomed almost 20-users a day during an 'intense' first week of operation.
Neil Gray slammed for dismissing drugs litter fears next to Scotland's fix room as 'lies' as footage shows dumped needles and burnt spoons just yards from shoppers
SNP ministers approved the centre in 2023, having insisted radical action was needed to tackle the drug deaths crisis in Scotland, with 833 suspected drug deaths between January and September last year.
But The Scottish Sun revealed earlier this month how worried nursery staff close to the site are having to scour for needles before allowing children to play.
Inspector Max Shaw, from Police Scotland, said: 'We are aware of long-standing issues in the area and continue to work closely in partnership to address these concerns.'
Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells said: 'Out-of-touch SNP politicians are arrogantly dismissing the concerns of local people, who are being left to clean up dirty needles in a desperate bid to keep their streets safe.
'Their flagship drug consumption room is making life a misery for local residents, yet the nationalists are pretending everything's fine.
'We repeatedly warned that pinning their hopes on state-sponsored drug-taking, at huge cost to our overstretched NHS, isn't the silver bullet to tackle this crisis, but in typical SNP fashion they ploughed ahead regardless.
'Scotland already has the worst drugs death rate in Europe – and, since The Thistle opened, suspected fatalities are rising. The SNP's reckless experiment is turning parts of Glasgow into no-go zones.
'Their focus needs to shift from facilitating drug-taking to treatment. John Swinney needs to get off the fence and back the game-changing Right to Recovery bill, which would enshrine in law the right of every Scot to receive the life-saving treatment they need, including residential rehab.'
Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government have been contacted for comment.
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