Peaceful Jesmond Road in Hove looks an unlikely spot for the taking of hard drugs.

But Katie Stone, the mother of two children, found two hypodermic needles lying there.

She called Brighton and Hove City Council, expecting the needles would be removed immediately.

But nothing was done for a whole day, despite a repeat call to the authority.

Mrs Stone, who lives nearby, was able to keep her own boys well away from the needles.

But children who walk along the road when going to and from local schools might not have been so lucky.

It's possible the needles had not been used by addicts but there is no way in which they should have been left a long time in the street.

These days, needles are being dropped in streets and parks all too often in Brighton and Hove. They are a potential danger.

There is a so-called rapid response unit for getting rid of this kind of dangerous waste. On this occasion it was not rapid enough.