More than a hundred used needles have been found on the streets of Newport in just a single day.
Volunteers discovered the drug paraphernalia during a routine shift litter picking on Saturday.
They said they safely disposed of about 70 needles in a lane next to the Carpenters Arms, near High Street, along with a number of metal spoons, wipes and packaging.
At the riverbank near the former Sainsbury's site in Shaftesbury, litter pickers discovered a further 80 discarded needles.
The group plan to make trips over the coming days after they received reports of other areas where the problem persists.
Paul Murphy has run voluntary community group Pride in Pill since 2014, regularly organising litter picking events and feeding the homeless in Newport.
The 48-year-old said he visited the lane with volunteers after the problem was reported to him by a nearby pub owner.
"She messaged on Facebook about half eleven and we were planning to do a clean up that day by Shaftesbury," he said.
"I said we would be there within an hour. I had my gloves and my sharps box so I picked them all up."
Paul, who works full time as a cleaner, said he and other volunteers have been trained to dispose of sharps safely, and the group regularly pick up replacement equipment from a local needle exchange.
He said doesn't allow anyone to pick up needles unless they have been trained.
Paul and his team went to Shaftesbury later the same day and found dozens more needles alongside a huge amount of general rubbish.
"Over in Shaftesbury we picked up more than 80 needles," Paul said
"In total it was about 150 sharps in that couple of hours. In the last two weeks I have picked up four lots of sharps during litter picks.
"We have to do it.
"What if the kids go playing up there? That's why we say to people to let us know and we will come and do it straight away.
"If kids picked it up they could get hurt. It's dangerous."
