A church worker spiked by a hypodermic needle while cleaning a graveyard has sounded the alarm about antisocial squatters.

Dr Sue Martin was recently tidying at St George’s Church in Ramsgate, often frequented by rough sleepers when a hidden needle penetrated her skin.

Now, the former warden says the church wishes to support all members of society, but it would prefer the graveyard was kept a safe space.

After five years of anti-social behaviour, the grounds in Church Hill have been used as a toilet and littered with needles and pornography.

“This is not the first time we’ve had tents in the churchyard - it’s happened every summer for the past five years or so,” Dr Martin explained.

“I do a litter pick frequently to remove bottles, cans, needles, dog poo and people poo, you name it - you’ll find it in the churchyard.

“It’s very sad, and I appreciate for local people it doesn’t look good and they don’t like it.

“And we totally agree that it is not acceptable for the people to have nowhere to go to the loo or wash themselves, and of course, that means it’s a hazard for other people who use the churchyard.”

For five summers in a row, drugs users have allegedly been seen shooting up and defecating near gravestones.

And the church has made efforts to engage with the individuals, inviting them to weekly community meals, according to Dr Martin.

She explained she suffered a “needle-stick injury” while cleaning up after rough sleepers.

But following a round of medical checks she has thankfully been given the all-clear.

“It’s really difficult for all concerned,” added Dr Martin, who now works as the secretary to the Parochial Church Council.

“We don’t have the power to remove the people and Thanet District Council is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the churchyard.

“The council have the power to take people into accommodation, but it’s not as simple as that as the people have to be willing to go.”

Resident Gail Muschamp also has sympathy for the squatters, but feels the local authority should be doing more to help.

Having moved to the area four years ago, the 56-year-old says she’s a big fan of the town but is perplexed by its drug problem.

“I really love Ramsgate, it’s amazing, but the problem with drugs is really unbelievable,” said Ms Muschamp.

“Clearly people living in the church yard have drug addictions and we ought to feel sorry for them.

“I believe they are defecting there and I feel the government isn’t doing enough to help people like that.”

Ms Muschamp says she would like to see the council provide people addicted to drugs with accommodation where they could be supported to come off their addictions.

“I think if this were outside where they live, they’d be doing more - there must be something more they could do,” she added.

Having visited the site last week, KentOnline observed two tents pitched up in the churchyard, with several individuals appearing to be staying there.

But since, Dr Martin says those staying appear to have left, albeit leaving a mess of unholy detritus.

Needles, pornographic calendars, detached bathroom fixtures and bedding were among the litter left behind.

“One of the church workers here has cleaned up a lot of the mess, the council are apparently going to come to take more of it later.

“We found some rubbish with several girly calendars left for anyone to find, including children - not good.

“One of the young men who was living there has apparently moved back to Dover”

A spokesperson for Thanet District Council said: “The council offers a range of services for .people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

“This includes RISE, our rough sleeping support team which conducts regular outreach to anyone identified as sleeping rough.

“Unfortunately, individuals are not always ready to engage with support services and in those situations we don’t have the power to force people to engage with these services.

“Our cemetery team do manage the upkeep of the grounds at St George’s churchyard and in partnership with the church and others ensure that they are kept clean.

“We would urge anyone facing homelessness to make an application as early as possible via the Kent home choice website.