TWO used syringes lay behind a busy Palmyra bus stop for five days despite being reported to authorities.

The bus stop on Canning Highway—just 50 metres from the Palmyra police station—has a narrow gap behind it which is just wide enough for a small child to enter. The small gap is also a magnet for litterbugs, with soft drink cans, wrappers and other litter adding to the mess.

The shelter doesn’t have much in the way of redeeming features, as a stinking bin enclosure from an apartment complex is straight over the fence; the smell when the Herald was there was stomach-turning.

The Chook’s informant spotted the used syringes on Friday night and immediately reported them to the WA public transport authority. When they were still there on Tuesday she also alerted a bus driver who promised to pass on the location.

However, it wasn’t until the Herald contacted the department that the syringes were removed.

PTA spokesperson David Hynes says technically it’s not their problem, as the bus shelter is provided by Melville council which should have been notified. Our informant says no-one told her that when she rang.

Mr Hynes concedes responsibility is a “grey area” but says the PTA had tried to firm up responsibility by telling councils it would look after aluminium bus stops “and the area in which the actual boarding takes place, to ensure that it can be done easily and safely”.

He says a maintenance crew happened to be in the area when he was dealing with the Chook’s enquiry, and it was able to remove the syringes within an hour.