Needle boxes left outside homes and collected by council contractors have raised safety concerns.

A service once offered as a syringe drop-off arrangement within pharmacies is now done in the borough through a contracted pick-up system.

Vicky Wilson, 37, who lives in Walton, often sees a biohazard box outside the main door of her flat complex and does not believe it is a workable system.

She said: “Children play out there and may, by accident or otherwise, quite easily open one of the boxes exposing themselves to sharp biohazard materials. There are quite a few children living in the block. We have a seven-year-old and my own little one was very curious.”

She said the box was often outside for about three or four days.

Many council collections run around the country.

Kingston, Birmingham and Oxford are some of the areas which run a similar service.

An Elmbridge Council spokesman said the service had been provided for more than 20 years and that there was no information available to determine whether this scheme saved or increased costs, although it is at no charge to residents.

Adding: “When arranging collections of medical waste we ask that the sharps box (or bags where these are used) are left at an agreed collection point.

“If a resident is worried about the location that this is being left in, they can speak to their neighbour in the first instance to explain their concerns, or contact us with the details.

“The boxes are designed to hold the waste securely, but if necessary we will speak to the contractor and service user to review the collection arrangement.”