A MOTHER was left shocked after the council told her she would be charged £60 to collect a syringe which was wedged through her fence - just 85 meters away from the authority's offices.

It means council officers wanted 70 pence per metre they would have had to walk to Angela Craig's home in Swan Place, Reading, after she spotted the drug paraphernalia in her back garden.

However, she was told if she picked up the syringe herself and threw it back over the fence onto a public highway, Reading Borough Council said it would send someone out for free.

Ms Craig, who is on maternity with a five-month-old child, said she was furious at being told she needed to pay.

She said: "I am on maternity so only take home £400 a month. Of that £400, £170 of it goes towards my council tax.

"When I explained this they told me to push it onto public property, that way they would pick it up.

"My neighbourhood has children and dogs, so obviously I am not going to do that and risk someone touching it.

"Even though the needle is not attached, I wouldn't take the risk of a child picking it up and possibly finding the needle."

Reading Borough Council refused to collect the syringe unless Ms Craig placed it back onto public property.

She refused to touch it because she was worried about contracting an illness or infection.

Eventually, a managing agent responsible for the land behind the council's Bridge Street offices fetched it for her.

She continued: "This is a junkie syringe.

"I am lucky that my little one is only five months but if he was older I would have just opened up the back door to let him go out and play.

"You don't think about checking your garden for syringes and needles first.

"What if there are some people who can't afford to pay the £60 charge and they are picking them up themselves?"