A mother who found syringes in the street has condemned Brighton and Hove City Council for failing to remove them.

Katie Stone, 32, of Portland Road, Hove, was taking her sons, George, three, and Henry, one, shopping when she found two needles in nearby Jesmond Road.

She called Brighton and Hove City Council twice but nothing was done to clear them.

She said: "I was with my sons, my sister and her daughter. We had just put the children in the car and I turned round and saw the needles. One of them was on the pavement and the other was at the kerb.

"I immediately thought I should do my good deed to get them moved. If it had been my children who had found them it would have been awful.

"You do worry about drugs in Brighton. Even if the needles were not for drug use, they still shouldn't have been there."

Mrs Stone called Sussex Police to report the needles. They told her to ring the council.

She said the council put her in contact with the Royal Sussex County Hospital where staff told her she had called the wrong place.

Mrs Stone said: "I couldn't believe it was so difficult to report some thing like this.

"I told the woman at the hospital I was going to give up trying. She said she would contact the council on my behalf to tell it where the needles were.

"I didn't want to put them in the bin myself as the binmen might get pricked."

Mrs Stone returned home at about 3pm to find the syringes still in the road.

She called the council again and was told staff from the rapid response unit would be sent to remove them.

She said: "It was about 3.30pm by then and I could see all the kids coming out of West Hove School.

"I was worried because some children can be vicious and you never know what might happen.

"Kids pick up the things they see and one of the needles had a bright orange lid."

Mrs Stone checked the road the next morning and the needles were still there.

She said: "The council had a chance to move them but it hasn't done it. I thought people would be as worried about this as me but nobody seems to be bothered.

"If a child was hurt by one they would have to wait three months for a test to see if they had HIV. I hope phoning The Argus means something will get done."

A council spokesman said: "We have been to Jesmond Road and recovered two syringes. The rapid response unit can take between three and 24 hours, depending on how busy they are.

"Hypodermic needles left in the street is unfortunately a regular occurrence and we dispose of hundreds every year.

"We do our best to keep abreast of the problem of people disposing of them in an irresponsible way."