The imagination of a child can turn anything into a toy.

But police in Saanich, B.C., are asking parents to have a frank chat with their children after a group of local kids turned their attention to something out of the ordinary: hypodermic needles.

According to Saanich police Sgt. Julie Fast, officers were called to Hampton Park around 8:30 a.m. on Monday after reports that a group of kids were playing darts with the syringes.

“We attended. We didn’t actually find the kids that were playing with them but we did find the needles, and some of them were uncapped,” she said.

“We did collect the ones we could find, and they have been safely disposed of.”

There were no reports of anyone being hurt.

Fast said the park is a popular location with families in a dense residential area, and the incident has prompted police to ask parents to talk to their kids about safety.

“It’s certainly not normal to come across a bunch of needles in a park around here and then to have kids pick them up and (be) playing with them, the safety hazards of that are concerning,” she said.

“It’s just a general message of being cognizant of where kids are playing and educating kids like we tell them: ‘Don’t pick up garbage and things that are dirty like that’ — just reminding them that if they are playing unsupervised, if they see something that looks like a needle, don’t touch it, come get a parent.”

Fast said parents can safely of dispose needles themselves, if they are willing to do so. Alternately, Saanich police say people can contact Solid Outreach for pickup or contact Island Health for more information.

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