AN alarmed resident is urging locals to become more aware of drug issues in the area after discovering a syringe on the front lawn of his Pakenham business.

Pakenham Bridgestone owner Peter Scollo said he was disappointed to find the used syringe when he arrived at work on Monday morning.

“I’m disappointed that a nice country town like Pakenham is experiencing such a downside to the urban sprawl,” he said.

Another three syringes were found at a car yard in Doherty Street on Monday morning.

Mr Scollo said he was concerned about residents’ safety after the discovery of the four syringes.

“A lot of kids walk straight through the nature strips, particularly on Saturday and during the week when school finishes,” he said.

“ The last thing we want is for a kid to come in contact with a needle.”

Mr Scollo said the number of syringes found on public property would increase if residents failed to acknowledge the problem.

“People need to be aware that these things go on,” he said.

“It is important to make Pakenham people aware that this is a problem and it shouldn’t be swept under the carpet.

“Otherwise before we know it we have an epidemic and we wonder why.

“As a parent of three teenagers I want to make parents aware that it is an issue.

“Parents need to talk about it with their kids and need to monitor what is going on with them.”

Mr Scollo said it wasn’t the first time he had experienced a drug-related issue. Ten years ago he had to seek medical assistance when a man passed out after shooting up outside his Bridgestone Tyres franchise in Cranbourne.

“I thought it was amazing that someone would do that out in the open (near a main road),” Mr Scollo said.

He emphasised that education was the key to ensuring a safe community.

“I’m not advocating for injecting centres, but for more education,” he said.

“Drugs are the start of other nasty things that follow, such as break-ins to support the habit.”

David Esmore of Cardinia Environmental Health Service said the issue of discarded syringes in the shire was far from widespread.

“Time to time there are complaints about syringes,” he said.

Mr Esmore said between June last year and March there had been 12 incidences where the council had been called out to remove syringes.

He urged residents to call the council if they found any syringes or to ensure that they were disposed of correctly.

“Needles need to be disposed of in a proper container and not just thrown in a bin,” he said.