ULTRA violet lighting is being used to deter drug abusers from turning Swindon's toilets into drug dens.
Following the installation of the lights at Swindon Railway Station, where 19-year-old Kellie Marie Oakes died of an overdose in the men's toilets last February, the council has now installed the special lights in its public toilets.
The UV light makes it practically impossible for people injecting heroin to locate their veins.
Council spokesman Gavin Calthrop said: "Swindon Borough Council has successfully completed a six month programme of installing UV lighting in all public toilets with the aim of discouraging drug use. The council is pleased to report a considerable decrease in the number of needles being found and will continue to monitor the situation for further signs of improvement."
Superstore Tesco has also introduced the lights in the toilets at its Ocotal Way store.
Addicts had been using the toilets as a warm, clean haven in which they could shoot up, but the problem of discarded needles became so bad that customers raised fears over public safety.
Manager Mario Roncaglia said staff had even found blood on the sinks near to used needles.
"We'd had occasions where hypodermic needles were found in the toilets here and we felt the toilets were being abused by drug users. The purpose of the lights is to prevent drug users from injecting into their veins.
"Since the lights were installed we haven't had one single problem with drug users in the toilets."
The idea of UV lights in public laboratories was first pioneered in Edinburgh, a city with a heroin epidemic.
The lighting, which only cost a few hundred pounds to install, could now be made a permanent fixture at Tesco.
Swindon's drug action team manager, Glenys Armstrong, said: "The idea it is to make it more difficult for intravenous drug users to locate a vein. The problem is that some users may be so desperate to take their drugs that they may attempt to inject them anyway and may have to try several times and expose themselves to further harm.
"That said, I can fully understand Tesco doesn't want people using their toilets to take drugs, especially as they are used by children, and I agree with what they have done."
No other Swindon stores are known to have followed Tesco's lead.
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