Hundreds of used hypodermic syringes left by drug abusers were among the items removed during a supermarket car park deep clean.
A team of emergency cleaners from CleanSafe Services cleaned emergency exits in the car park that had been squatted by homeless families.
CleanSafe Services was called in the by supermarket chain after around 25 people, including children, were evicted from the underground car park in London.
Needle sweep
Its expert emergency environmental cleaners could only move in after bailiffs, supported by police and immigration officers, had moved on the vagrant families.
The CleanSafe Services team carried out a drug needle sweep – a process also known as significant bio-hazard. Large amounts of packaging for methodone, a heroin substitute obtained via the NHS, was also cleared.
The team also cleared large amounts of clothing, children’s toys, and even children’s bicycles, abandoned when the squatters were forced to move on.
Infection risk
CleanSafe Services Site Supervisor Dave Avers said: “We had to deep clean the area before the supermarket’s security team could secure the site to try to prevent the families from moving back in.
“We’re used to seeing and smelling a lot of nasty things during our deep cleaning work, and this site was definitely not pleasant.
“It’s sad that people get to the point where they live in these conditions, especially the children. The infection risk alone must have been very high.”
A team of six environmental deep cleaning operatives worked tirelessly over two days to remove all the waste and clean the car park. They wore specialist protective clothing, including ‘needle stick’ gloves and masks, to prevent injury and infection.
Stolen goods
Two tipper trucks were filled with items left behind by the squatters, including mattresses, bedding, and packaging from dozens of items suspected of being shoplifted, including clothing, make-up and electrical goods.
Industrial steam cleaning equipment, combined with a powerful anti-bacterial agent, was then used to scour the floors and walls of the affected areas.
The following day, CleanSafe Services was called back to carry out more deep cleaning after a small number of the squatters got back in and had to be evicted again.
Desperate state
The squatters had occupied five fire escapes in the basement car park, with what appeared to be one family in each of the fire escapes.
Dave Avers said: “It looked like attempts were being made to keep two of the living spaces clean and tidy, but the others were filthy and in a desperate state.”
With operational centres in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Edinburgh, CleanSafe Services is a UK leader in squat cleaning, site deep cleaning, needle picking, and environmental cleaning.
For more information, call CleanSafe Services on 0800 668 1268.
