Dog walker unearths drug den

The spot, which contains evidence of prolific illegal drug use, is located in Scholes village park opposite the Salvation Army building.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, stumbled across the needle-ridden den when his Jack Russell terrier ran off into the bushes during an afternoon walk.

“People lie in the bushes drugged out their eyeballs but police just move them on,” he said. “No arrests are ever made and they just return after an hour. A lot of the people going into the bush are those begging in town centre. My dog ran into the bush because he saw someone in there and wouldn’t come out, when I went in to get him I was absolutely horrified by what I saw.

“Needle wrappers, bags, metal spoons. When he ran in there I was checking him all over. I was checking to make sure I hadn’t stood on anything. I didn’t stick around for long.

“What if a child was to run in there?”

People have also reported seeing “zombie-like” people hanging around the bushes.

According to the witness, a number of residents have already reported it to the council. The den has been there for at least a month but up until now no action has been taken to either remove the needles or move the drug users on.

Wigan Council is in charge of a dedicated team to remove hazardous waste, which includes needles- there is also a needle exchange programme in which people are encouraged to safely deposit their used syringes in exchange for clean ones.

“All the grass around the area has been cut,” added the dismayed resident. “It seems no one has bothered going anywhere near it though. If you are cutting grass round there you should be able to see what’s going on inside.

“It’s just disgusting.”