BIN liners containing boxes of discarded needles were dumped outside ten houses in one street – and no-one knows where they came from.

At first refuse collectors declined to remove them, but there was a change of heart and they were taken away.

Veronica Roach discovered one of the bags outside her home in Priory Avenue, Taunton, with a notice from Somerset Waste Partnership saying they would not collect it.

“I opened the bag and how I didn’t puncture my skin I don’t know,” said Mrs Roach.

“I rang Taunton Deane Council, who said it wasn’t their responsibility, and because I’d put the bag in my bin for safety reasons it was my property.

“I don’t have a car, so I can’t take it to the tip, and after a while they agreed to call it fly tipping and come to collect it.”

Mrs Roach said her neighbour, who has three daughters, also had a bag of sharps dumped on her doorstep.

A man, who also had a bag left at his home and who asked not to be named, said: “It could be a health hazard. We don’t know whether the needles belonged to an illegal drug user or a diabetic.”

A SWP spokesman said the incident appeared to be “an unusual case of fly-tipping”.

He said: “Fly-tipping is punishable by a fine or prison and can be a threat to health.

“In view of the contents this waste has been collected.”

If you see fly-tipping or need a free home clinical waste collection service, call Taunton Deane Council on 01823-356346 or email enquiries@taunton deane.gov.uk

Details on combating fly-tipping are at www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/more/fight-fly-tipping