Woman's 'disgraceful' find on popular Queensland beach
A woman has warned beachgoers to always look where they step after finding a syringe hidden in amongst seaweed on a popular Queensland beach.
The woman posted a photo of the dangerous find to a local Cairns Facebook group, showing the syringe barely visible underneath seaweed on the sand.
In the post, the woman explained she was a couple of metres away from the Cairns Esplanade Fun Ship Playground when she made the unsettling discovery.
"There was a used syringe with needle intact washed half-covered with rubbish," she wrote.
"It was hard to see, I picked it up and showed the guy nearby fishing with bare feet to be careful."
Children playing nearby
The woman continued, saying she disposed of it using the council sharps container in the toilet, but said she's concerned about people taking their children to the popular beach.
"It's disgraceful, and I have seen children playing in the mud."
Comments flooded in from locals concerned with the find, some saying it's not the first time a syringe has been seen near the playground.
"We do Sea Shepherd beach clean along the front near muddy's playground and along where the pirate ship is and we find them a lot," one person wrote.
"I have been told by a council worker never to let a kid play down on the beach," another commented. "Always keep your shoes on kids."
Foreshore inspected 'daily'
A spokesperson from Cairns Regional Council told Yahoo News Australia a sweep is conducted of the beach every morning.
"A member of the public contacted Council this morning and a crew has been to the area and removed the syringe," they said.
"Crews inspect the Esplanade foreshore daily to remove litter and dangerous items, such as syringes.
"Council encourages anyone who finds a syringe or other dangerous material in our public spaces to contact us immediately so we can remove the item."
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