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Home Canterbury News Article
A concerned mum-of-three is pressing for CCTV cameras to be installed in a playground found littered with empty laughing gas canisters.
Rachel Delgado visited the park in Suffolk Road, Canterbury, with two of her children, aged seven and two, when she discovered the paraphernalia.
She also found more than a dozen empty plastic bags, which she believes were used to hold drugs, and discarded beer cans close to the slide and roundabout.
“We had to leave,” the 29-year-old said. “I was so disgusted by it.
“Loads of rubbish is left there – I don’t think it gets monitored. It’s been left in a really bad state.
“It’s really dangerous. My little boy’s only two and he could have put something in his mouth or picked them up.”
Ms Delgado visited the park again soon after and found more canisters, bags and litter dumped near the play area.
She has called for action to be taken to prevent it becoming a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
“Because it’s behind a block of flats a lot of teenagers go there to drink and take drugs, and they obviously leave it all there,” she said.
“When I’ve gone there, I’ve seen groups of them sitting around there – it’s obviously an ongoing thing.
“When I’ve spoken to people who live round there, they’ve said they asked the council about putting cameras up there.
“It’s secluded, so no one can really see what’s going on in there. I think putting CCTV cameras there will stop anti-social behaviour and it will make it safer, because it keeps getting abused.”
A spokesman for East Kent Housing, which manages the playground, said: "No issue regarding the playground has been reported to Canterbury City Council or East Kent Housing. However, after becoming aware of the residents’ concerns we have instructed our contractor to carry out an additional clean of the area.
"Anyone wanting to report an issue with rubbish or drug paraphernalia in their area can find details on how to do this on our website, and concerns over drug use should be reported to local police.”
