A MORECAMBE father is demanding action after his daughter was 'stabbed' by a discarded drugs needle.

Seven-year-old Hollie Tillett was injured after climbing over a low wall to retrieve a ball from an area behind Lloyds Pharmacy in Hanover Street, Morecambe.

Dad Kevin Tillett says he collected more than 30 used needles when he went to check the area.

He is furious that all the needles have not yet been cleared - leaving other youngsters ex-posed to the same risk.

He told the Citizen: "Hollie spent four-and-a-half hours in casualty, being checked to see if the needle had actually punctured her skin. Obviously we were really worried. But the needles are still there behind the pharmacy."

He says that when he complained to staff he was told the matter was in the hands of their head office and nothing could be done before Friday.

"It's disgusting - I've collected more than 30 used needles in a supermarket carrier bag, and there's still some left," says Mr Tillett.

He believes they have probably been used by people receiving methadone treatment from the pharmacy and says that as long as they are left lying around other children are at risk.

"Kids play in the street because it's a cul-de-sac and there's not so much traffic. When they're playing ball games and the ball disappears over a wall, you can't expect them not to go after it, but at the moment any one of them could prick themselves on a needle like Hollie did," he adds.

Pharmacy supervisor Christine Logan says she contacted the company's head office as soon as she became aware of the problem.

Pharmacy staff do not have access to the area of land at the rear, she adds.

A statement issued by Lloyds says the company is aware of the incident and has launched an investigation.

It adds: "Lloyds Pharmacy takes incidents concerning the health and safety of our premises seriously... we are con-ducting a full and thorough investigation into this matter and the results will be communicated to all concerned."