A DISABLED woman says she is "seriously worried" about leaving her used injection needles box outside her door in case they are stolen by drug addicts.

The resident of Bushwood, Leytonstone, said Whipps Cross University Hospital Trust contractors were picking up the secure boxes around 3am.

The diabetic, in her late 50s, is so worried about addicts looking for needles, she has refused to put out her box for collection.

She said: "I used to have my boxes collected by district nurses when they came on visits, but that doesn't happen any more. Whipps Cross now wants me to leave the box outside. I won't put my boxes outside because it's dangerous."

A spokeswoman for Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust said the boxes might have been collected only as a favour while a district nurse was on a visit.

A Whipps Cross spokeswoman said: "Used needle boxes are totally secure and are unable to be accessed once the lid is locked.

"This has been a procedure which has been operating successfully for more than three years.

"Once patients have used needles, they are requested to contact the general office at the hospital. A list of patients in the area is compiled weekly for the collection of clinical waste. Clients are asked to place their used needle boxes outside their property in the late evening for collection by the contractor in the early hours of the following morning."