BLOOD and used drugs syringes have been left littering Brighton’s Lanes.

Business owners said they regularly had to clean up mess left by revellers from nights out but that the problem was escalating.

Jack O’Neill, director of The Dark Water Gallery in Meetinghouse Lane said he arrived at work on Oct ober 8 only to find the lane splattered with blood and used, dirty needles abandoned in the gutter.

He said neighbouring businesses had told him they also had to clean up hazardous waste, fearing children could be harmed.

He said: “Shop owners are having to clean up after after heroin users.

“I came to the gallery and found blood and heroin needles all over the place at 9.30am, so not early hours.

“Our next door neighbours were already kind enough to help clean up and make sure a child did not pick up the blood covered needles laying in the street.

“This is not the first time it has happened.

“We regularly clean up after drug addicts and alcoholics and have contacted the council about the issues regarding the state of the streets many times but we still get very little help.

“The local shopowners are the only ones who actually clean the streets regularly, even though we pay high taxes and rates for city services.

“It concerns me that a child will come in to contact with the needles left lying around the street.”

Mr O’Neill said that whilst they had found empty bottles and litter in the streets after weekend nights out, the increasing amount of drugs paraphernalia was a worrying escalation of the situation.

He added: “Drugs has always been a problem in Brighton but it is getting worse.

“We always call the council and the police and get a nice polite reply back, but not much practical help.

“We can’t leave it out there for children to pick up so we tend to clean it up ourselves.

“I have spoken to my neighbours about this too and they seem to suffer even more than me as we come in a bit later. “

Sales assistant Simona Barbu at neighbouring Camelot Diamonds said: “Almost every day we have to clean up.

“There are homeless people who sleep outside and they can be nice enough, but they wee outside.

“They are always leaving cardboard and rubbish but when it’s needles and blood it is even worse. We can’t leave it for our customers to have to step over, so we have to clean it up.”