A MUM was left gobsmacked as a “shower” of around 150 used “heroin” needles came flooding into her kitchen after a faulty cupboard was removed.
Margaret Doyle has allegedly been told a “junky” previously lived in her flat in Worcester and has slammed the housing association for not doing a proper sweep before she moved in with her baby daughter.
Roland LeonMargaret Doyle with her baby daughter Maggie[/caption]
Margaret DoyleAn estimated 150 heroin syringes and other paraphernalia fell out from behind a cupboard[/caption]
Roland LeonThe loose cupboard was taken out by Sanctuary workers before the ‘flood of needles’[/caption]
The 36-year-old told The Sun: “In my opinion it must have been the biggest crack den around, honest to God. That’s the only way to describe it.
“The cheek of putting me and my newborn child in here – they have no respect for me and my child.”
Margaret and baby Maggie, now 14 months, moved into the Sanctuary property off Quay Street in the city centre in July last year.
After the discovery, she fears her baby may have even touched a needle and is therefore at risk of infection.
The mum described the flat as “disgusting”, adding: “There was blood on the walls, there was blood on the roof. There wasn’t floorboards, it was chipboard and there was stains all over it.
“I can’t describe how vile it was.”
Margaret, who previously lived in a refuge in Kidderminster before giving birth, said she was desperate to make it into a liveable home for her baby “so I started doing things up”.
Having been making do, she said in January the doors on the kitchen cupboards started to come loose.
“I rang and rang Sanctuary and eventually they told me they’d be coming out on the second of July to fit new cupboards,” she explained.
Margaret said it seemed strange as she was told on moving in that a whole new kitchen had been fitted, she claims.
One of the cupboard doors was “getting heavier” as it got looser, she continued, adding: “I was slamming it hard and it was getting looser from the wall.”
Then on May 17, Margaret went to get her iron tablets from behind the microwave while she spoke to her mum on the phone when she made a shock discovery.
Normally she would have blindly put her hand through the gap between the microwave and wall but said: “It must have been someone shining down on me – I didn’t stick my hand in, this time I pulled out the microwave.
“I was gobsmacked to see a needle right in front of me. I just thought I was seeing things for a minute.”
Margaret put the needle into a bag, though it penetrated her finger by “half an inch”, and she called Sanctuary repeatedly before 10 days later they sent out two workers to investigate on Tuesday (May 27).
They told her they could see more needles in the small gap between the cupboard and the wall.
She said: “Two men came in and they said that they’re in a very small gap in between the wall and the cupboard.”
“Oh, my god,” said Margaret. “It was like raining an absolute shower of needles… there were spoons too.”
Oh, my god. It was like raining an absolute shower of needles… there were spoons too.
Margaret Doyle
The needles, some allegedly “half full of heroin”, scattered over the worktop and floor.
Margaret claims a gas man had previously warned her that a drug addict had lived in the flat before her.
“He said ‘I feel I have to tell you because you’ve got a baby,” she said.
“‘There’s a really bad junky that lived in this property before you.’
“He said the whole place had to be swept for needles. Nobody told me nothing about it.
“Obviously, I wasn’t moving into a property that was a cleaned property because if it was 150 needles wouldn’t fall through the wall.”
Margaret, who is also keen to move from her upstairs property into one on the ground so she doesn’t have to carry the pram three flights, worsening her hip and back pains, has been using HomeSwapper to try and trade with other Sanctuary tenants.
“Everyone I speak to on HomeSwapper doesn’t want this place,” she said.
“It must have been for years. In my opinion it must have been the biggest crack den – honest to God, it had to have been.
“That’s the only way to describe it. The cheek of putting me and my newborn child in here – they have no respect for me and my child.
“When they found all the needles I just burst out laughing. The said they put in a new kitchen – are they serious?
“Do they think I’m that green that I’m actually going to believe them?”
Margaret went on to say: “I can’t describe to you how disgusting this place is.
“There’s still blood patches on the roof. It makes me sick. Where was the respect for me and my child who’s never seen drugs in her life?”
She thinks the previous tenant was, whilst “delusional” on drugs, throwing the needles over the top of the cupboard, leading to them falling down the gap and getting trapped.
“It makes me feel disgusting and angry,” she added. “The syringes are half full of heroin, blood, it turns my stomach.
“Why didn’t they put another junky in here instead of me?”
A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: “We can confirm that work to replace the kitchen units will be starting on Thursday 12 June and we will be speaking to Miss Doyle to ensure that any other concerns raised are addressed.
“We will also offer her further advice on how to apply for a new property and provide any support she needs through the application process.”
Worcester City Council did not wish to comment when approached by The Sun.
Roland LeonMargaret wants to be rehomed from her property off Quay Street, Worcester[/caption]
Roland LeonThe removed cupboard is still in her flat[/caption]
Roland LeonMargaret understands a heroin user previously lived at the property[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
