A "TERRIFIED" youngster has undergone a course of injections to prevent him contracting hepatitis B after kneeling on a used needle on school grounds. Bradley Kavanagh, seven, was hunting for objects as part of an orienteering project at Bude Park Primary School, in Bransholme, when he was pricked by the rusty needle.
He was quickly sent to hospital with the bagged-up needle and asked his mum "Am I going to die?"
Blood tests have so far proved inconclusive and he has an agonising wait until August to get the results.
It follows a similar scare last week when five-year-old Layla Carter-Brown was stabbed by a syringe wedged between two seats in a bus travelling from east Hull to the city centre.
She is also facing a wait for blood tests result, fearing she may have contracted HIV.
Bradley's mum, Louise Gibbins, is angry the school has not done more to warn parents about the dangers of needles in the school, particularly around the wildlife garden.
Miss Gibbins, 25, of Davidstow Close in Bransholme, said: "I rushed to school when I heard and we had to take him to hospital.
"Bradley was absolutely terrified. I explained to him he needed to go to hospital and he asked me 'Am I going to die?'
"He had blood tests done and then needed injections to prevent a hepatitis B infection.
"He was really upset because he was being injected with the same kind of needle that caused the problem in the first place."
Miss Gibbins is critical of the way the school has dealt with the issue.
She said: "The accident happened on May 2 and we have given the school plenty of time to deal with this. But it hasn't done enough. No letters have been sent out alerting parents to the problem.
"If they had done this we could have told our children to be a bit more cautious.
"The staff also said there would be an assembly on the issue but that hasn't happened.
"Other parents have kicked off because they weren't told about what happened."
She also feels the wildlife area in the school grounds needs to be tidied up.
She said: "At one time the wildlife garden was quite nice, but now it has been neglected and is overgrown. "I don't think the area is checked often enough for needles.
"I understand the school can't do much about drug users discarding their needles but if it were tidier, they could be found more easily."
Miss Gibbins says it has a stressful time as they await the results of the blood tests.
She said: "With the first test proving inconclusive, it is agonising waiting for the final results.
"I was devastated and couldn't eat for a while.
"Bradley remains quite upset. Others have to be careful around him, particularly as he is prone to nosebleeds, but I don't want him to be bullied."
The school insists the discovery of the needle is a rare occurrence and it is dealing with the issues arising from Bradley's accident.
A spokesman for Bude Park Primary School said: "We are very concerned about this incident involving a Year 2 child taking part in an orienteering activity on school grounds.
"Prior to the activity, the grounds had been subject to the normal daily grounds scrutiny by the school caretaker and a further check was made prior to the orienteering exercise.
"The child made a member of staff aware of a potential injury and a member of staff subsequently found a needle in undergrowth.
"We immediately contacted the child's parents to make them aware of the situation and advised on medical precautions.
"The safety of all of our pupils is our priority and, as such, we are now stepping up our existing daily grounds checks.
"We will continue to be vigilant and would also urge members of the public to report any suspicious activity around school premises."
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