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Shocking images show city streets littered with heroin needles, blood and human waste as a drug epidemic continues to plague the centre of Liverpool.

It's a sight that Liverpool City Council's street cleansing team face at 6am on a daily basis as they attempt to keep the city centre clean and safe.

Several city centre sites are badly affected, with Mount Pleasant Car Park and areas close to Lime Street railway station amongst those with the most dangerous waste being left lying around.

Cleansing bosses say staff are met with difficult and dangerous scenes each day and believe something has to be done to stem what they feel is an epidemic of drug use amongst the city’s homeless community .

At the Mount Pleasant Car Park - which is a well known spot for rough sleepers - the cleansing team, accompanied by the Liverpool Echo , were met with a scene of around 100 drug needles, many of them appeared to be used.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

(Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo)

One of the images shows a syringe full of blood - representing a real danger for anyone walking past or attempting to clean up the area.

There were also scores of metal spoons - which are used by drug takers to heat up heroin and cocaine.

Shockingly the images show just a few days of activity - with the council confirming that they had cleared the whole area just three days before.

The rate of the increase in this kind of behaviour in the city centre is outlined clearly when staff explained how several years ago they would routinely be called out to clean up one needle - now they are called out for fifty.

There was also evidence of what the council staff call “bin surfing”, where people rifle through large bins and turn them over in the search of items, which could potentially be sold to make money for drugs.

(Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo)

Not only does this create a major mess for the street cleansing teams to deal with - but it hides more dangers within it.

Other areas were also littered with used needles and other drug-taking paraphernalia.

This included more drug spoons and elastic bands which can be worn by drug users as they inject themselves.

In an equally difficult discovery, the council team pointed out that human excrement had been left amongst the discarded rubbish.

In another area staff found around 3,000 separate drug needles in shrubbery.

(Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo)

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Street Cleansing boss Adrian Devers explained: “That was a massive success for us, its a real practical way of addressing a serious problem of reclaiming areas that had become no-go zones for people - now people will freely walk this route to the market.”

And while the work done here by the council is impressive and has stemmed the problem - it is not long before we happen across an area nearby where drug-taking is clearly still rife.

In an underpass just a stone’s throw from the St Anne Street Police Station we are met with what has become a familiar - but still shocking - scene.

There are scores of used drug needles alongside spoons, rolling papers and other paraphernalia.

The street team’s theory is that drugs are being bought and used in this area, before users head back to the city centre to beg for more cash to buy more drugs.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

(Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo)

It is an extremely complex challenge for the council, the police and the services which offer support to the city’s most vulnerable.

Adrian Devers, Liverpool Council’s Street Cleansing manager said: “This is something that needs to be looked at from everybody’s view. Not everyone on the streets is there for the same reason or because of a hard luck story.

“Many are but there are those who are on the streets for the purposes of what we have seen this morning.

“We need to recognise that and determine what level of support is needed.

“What happens now is that chronic drug users get the same visits and the same support as someone who is brand new on the streets.

(Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo)

“All of these people are vulnerable, but with different levels.

“The people at the top of that scale are not easy to deal with but they are less difficult than those at the bottom - but if you don’t work with everyone, you can never fix it.”

“It needs a new approach, I don’t know what that is.”

A statement from Merseyside Police Local Policing Inspector Steve Hardy said:

“Merseyside Police works closely with Liverpool City Council, the Whitechapel Centre and other partners to tackle the issue of homelessness and associated drug use.

"This partnership work includes information sharing meetings where hot spot locations and individuals are highlighted to the relevant agency.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

(Image: Liverpool Echo) (Image: Liverpool Echo)

“We will always look to support vulnerable people in Liverpool to turn their lives around and provide ways to support their welfare and health needs, and assist in providing accommodation organised by support services, and pathways away from begging, homelessness and street drinking.

“However, we will not tolerate any anti-social behaviour or criminality and as a result, we have recently issued a number of community protection notices towards members of the street community, due to anti-social behaviour including aggressive begging.

“Drugs syringes and other paraphernalia also pose real dangers to members of the public, council workers and members of the emergency services, so we will be proactive alongside our partners in highlighting hot spot areas where action is required.”