Girl, 11, cut finger on used syringe

Erin Malia, 11, pricked her finger on a syringe that had been left in a public toilet outside the children’s paddling pool on St Annes prom while on a day out with her family last Tuesday.

Mum Sarah Malia, 34, said: “Erin went to use the toilet, and when she came back she was crying and holding her finger.

“She said she had cut her finger on something sharp when she had gone to flush the chain.

“We went to check to see what she had cut herself on and it was a syringe that was sticking out of the sharp disposal.

“My whole body went cold.”

The Malia’s trip to the beach quickly turned into a nightmare as Sarah and dad Chris rushed their daughter to A&E, where she was given blood tests and an injection for Hepatitis B.

Shop worker Sarah, who lives on Clevedon Road, North Shore, said: “Erin was in hysterics and she thought she was dying. She fell asleep crying.

“I was extremely worried. When I went to bed my mind was in overdrive thinking of what could happen and I think any parent would be the same.

“I feel sick just thinking about it.”

The mum-of-three added that she now fears for her daughter’s safety, and feels ‘disgusted’ with those responsible for maintaining the public toilet.

She said: “Safety should be top priority, especially in a kids’ area. The sharp box shouldn’t have been open and exposed for a child to prick her finger on.

“How can it be OK to not have a lid on it when they know children are going to be there every day of the week?

“I feel 100 per cent that the toilets were not being looked after properly.

“The sharp disposal clearly hadn’t been emptied in a long time since it was so full it had a needle sticking out the top.

“Someone else’s blood has been on that needle. It has been in someone else’s skin.

“I’m absolutely disgusted and I’m fuming that my daughter has been put through this.

“I would rather it have happened to me.”

A Fylde Council spokesman said: “Incidents like this are extremely rare, and we fully investigate any complaints made in regards to the cleanliness of our public toilets.

“A daily cleaning schedule is carried out by Danfo, a third party contractor who manage the toilets on Fylde Council’s behalf.

“However it is extremely difficult to prevent articles of this nature being left in public toilets by irresponsible individuals.

“In line with our complaints procedure a response has been provided and the complaint is currently being investigated by Danfo.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that this unfortunate incident has caused.”