A playground in Cork is now 'empty' as parents say their children are 'scared for their lives.'
According to CorkBeo, the playground located on Cork's northside has been overrun with drug dealing and anti-social behaviour.
Residents in Blackpool are calling for urgent action at Military Park and Glentrasna Playground amid growing concerns over safety.
The Assumption Road park was once a popular green space for young families and dog walkers, but locals say it has increasingly become an area where people don't feel safe. Recent incidents have reportedly left some children “scared for their lives”, prompting renewed calls for improvements and greater safety measures.
The news outlet reported that a local mother said her children were chased out of the area, with another stating that they frequently clean up needles and tin foil from the playground.
Speaking on Cork's 96fm, a local resident said that "there is severe drug use, needles all over the park. The children are scared for their lives, basically."
"This used to be the kids’ little playground where they could play, spend time with their friends, play football on their scooters and bikes and unfortunately, they can’t anymore. It’s too dangerous. The playground right now is empty, and it should be full of children." She said she wants to warn parents that their "kids are in danger of picking up a needle in the bushes," the mother continued.
Earlier this month, a five year old boy was rushed to hospital after he was pricked with a bloody heroin needle in another playground in Cork.
The young boy carried the needle home when a neighbour saw him and shouted for him to drop it, before his mam, Jade rushed him to Cork University Hospital.
Speaking to Paul Byrne on the 96FM Opinion Line, Jade explained: "He came home, and actually the neighbour saw him with a needle in his hand that had blood and liquid in it, and he was squeezing it. Obviously my neighbour shouted, 'Ben, drop that now!' Got the fright of my life and brought him, put him into the car straight up to CUH."
"I was stripping him, checking was there any pricks in his legs, his feet, because he said he was trying to kick it away too. But they actually looked, you know, when he went to CUH, they checked his body and everything; they think that he didn't prick himself. But still, like, I'm so angry," she continued.
