A derelict pub next to a Black Country school is being used as a drugs den, teachers and community wardens warned.
Needles, syringes and methadone bottles used by heroin addicts have been found around the former inn, just 15 metres from Little London Primary School in Willenhall, Walsall, they claimed.
Teachers and community safety wardens who patrol the area said the school grounds of the Tiger Inn pub were a regular haunt for drug users.
Headteacher Joanne Austin said: "The school's main concern is the health and safety of schoolchildren in Willenhall. It is appalling that rubbish and other drugs paraphernalia have been found over the area. It is very dangerous and I hope something can be done to safeguard our children."
Assistant head Anne McKay added police had to be called on a number of occasions after the school grounds were broken into to gain access to the site.
"We have had the fence broken down several times," she said.
"The pub is not in use at the moment and people have been using the back area. There are drug users who go there. We are concerned about what the children may find if things are left on the school field as well."
Walsall Neighbourhood Wardens, which patrols the area, claimed a child had already been injured through contact with a syringe while playing near the derelict pub. The Tiger Inn has been boarded up and unused for three years. The wardens have launched an awareness drive to educate children what to do if they find discarded needles.
Community warden Ilyas Jeewa said: "It's worrying that the kids play so close to this place every day and one of them could be seriously injured.
"We have been working to get the property secured so no one can get access to it."
Councillor Garry Perry, Walsall Council's cabinet member for safer, stronger communities, said: "It is important that children are made aware of the dangers posed by discarded needles and drug paraphernalia; I applaud this initiative by the wardens and staff at Little London School.
"However, it is also necessary for the police, school, council and local community to work with the owners of this property to bring it back into use and stop the building being used for criminal purposes."
