Stepped on dirty needle

"I was shocked, for sure and  I was a little bit nervous," said a Vernon mother. "I didn't really know how to deal with it, and where to go from there."

Ashley Irving was headed to Kin Beach with her husband and their three young daughters on Saturday when she stepped on a dirty needle and syringe littered on the sand.

"We didn't even unpack all of our stuff and I thought I had stepped on a pointy stick and I looked back and it was actually a used needle," Irving said.

The incident occurred towards the 'dog area' of the beach on Lakeshore Road. This area is owned by the Okanagan Indian Band.

This isn't the first time needles and syringes have been littered throughout the park. On another occasion, a woman found a blood-filled needle near the play area on the grass.

The grassy section and beachfront at Kin Beach off Tronson Road is owned by the City of Vernon.

"To be honest it makes me feel like I've lost a little bit of trust in the City because I feel like their job is to keep us safe and keep our environment healthy," Irving said. "I understand that it's a really complex issue the City is dealing with but there has to be a way we can keep our community and kids safe."

Irving says she most likely won't be heading back to Kin Beach any time soon.

"Be so diligent because obviously, you will never know where they are, even all those places that we frequent, a lot."

For the next nine months, Irving will be taking regular tests for HIV.

Doctors have told her that because of how old the needle was at the time of puncturing her foot she likely has nothing to worry about.

The needle was properly discarded.

Irving posted her encounter on the Vernon Rant and Rave Facebook page.