The Corporation of Hamilton are considering closing toilets in Union Street after continual complaints by cleaning staff about used needles and blood spattered walls left by drug users.

Corporation Secretary Roger Sherratt said: "Our workers are very, very apprehensive about going to pick up syringes and clean up blood stains."

Asked if his workers had been given protective gloves he said they might wear rubber gloves but they could easily be pricked by needles.

He said: "It's a really very difficult situation."

He said members of the public and cleaning staff were complaining on a daily basis.

"It's got to the point where we are thinking about closing down these toilets."

The toilets are opposite the Bermuda Industrial Union building. BIU leader Derrick Burgess was asked if he was concerned about the safety of cleaning staff.

He said: "I don't want to comment, they are not our workers, they are not unionised, I don't want to jump on that.

"I don't know what the problem is. As far as I can tell the Corporation is trying to do the best to sort it out.

"There isn't an easy solution, they have to asked us for suggestions to deal with this problem and we are wondering what we can do to help."

Bermuda Public Service Union General Secretary Edward Ball said: "We don't represent these workers. I wouldn't want to comment on it."

However Corporation of Hamilton workers said they took extreme care with the needles and locked the bathroom as soon as they were found until people were sent with protective equipment to retrieve the needles.

One worker told The Royal Gazette: "They are shooting up and smoking crack in there. Children could go in there and put themselves at risk.

"We found one lady with a needle in her arm and we called the Police but she was back there next day.

"We keep those toilets clean but it's got so the public don't want to use the toilets because they see the sort of people who go in there."

He said called on Police to do regular check on that and other toilets after pointing out that drug equipment such as razor blades and drug bottles were being found elsewhere including the toilets by the bus station.

Mr. Sherratt called on the Police to launch regular patrols to make sure people weren't abusing the facilities.

He said it was time Police revived the parish constables which operated in the 1990s but were phased out.

The two constables ended up being diverted into court duties said Mr. Sherratt and could not roam the streets, but he said there was a definite need for beat constables to build up relations with businesses and residents and gather vital intelligence.

He said: "At the personal level you find out so much more, the alternative is crisis response where you only see the police when there is an emergency."

Rummies, car washers and beggars cause problems on a daily basis, said Mr. Sherratt, who said on car washer in Court Street was aggressive to traffic wardens when they tried to move him on.