A FIVE year old boy needed hospital treatment after he was stabbed in the foot with a discarded syringe needle – feared to have been left on a bus.
David Thomson felt a pain in his foot shortly after boarding the bus in Lochgelly, Fife, and it was later discovered that the needle had penetrated his shoe.
David needed hospital treatment including preventive shots for hepatitis.
His furious mother took to social media to reveal her son’s plight and urge drug users to behave responsibly.
Hannah Louise Grigg believes the needle was discarded on the bus itself but Stagecoach said they had checked CCTV and there “did not appear to be any evidence that David sustained his injury on board our vehicle”.
The incident happened last Wednesday afternoon after David had left school at Lochgelly West Primary.
He got on the number 19 service with his older brother to make the brief trip along the road to Lumphinnans.
As he got off the service, David felt something in his shoe and checked his foot between the wheelchair area and the doors.
When he got home and complained about the issue, Hannah pulled the needle out of his heel using tweezers and took her son to hospital.
He received treatment for Hepatitis B – and will continue to do so for two months as a precautionary measure.
In the Facebook post which was uploaded just after midnight on Thursday, Hannah called out drug users for having needles on public transport.
She wrote: “Awareness is key, prevention is fundamental! If you’re going to shoot up, do it in the privacy of your own home, not on public transport. Also discard your needles in a safe manner always! Our little boy’s life could have been changed forever tonight!”
The mother acknowledges that the needle could have attached itself before David boarded the bus, but nothing was wrong with him prior to him getting on.
She added: “David takes everything in his stride, he is absolutely fine now. We just have to keep an eye on his overall health.”
On social media, Elizabeth Martin said: “Dirty junkies, they don’t care they get plenty help. Hope your wee fella is ok god bless him.”
Helen Batchelor wrote: “This makes me sick, they have no shame whatsoever. Manky b******s. NHS just encourage them with supplements for their habit, it’s a bloody joke.”
Debbie Doyle commented: “That’s disgusting! Thoughtless sods!”
A Stagecoach spokeswoman said: “Our first thoughts are for David’s welfare and we are glad to hear he is recovering well.
“We understand that his injury was discovered at home after walking and travelling by bus home from school. Following an investigation and a thorough review of CCTV, there does not appear to be any evidence that David sustained his injury on board our vehicle.
“However, we will be contacting David and his mother to discuss the matter with them and reassure them about future travel.”
Hannah revealed the company have issued David with a cinema voucher and a letter as a result of the inconvenience caused.
She said: ““I appreciate they did what they could and I can’t fault them.
“Hopefully what happened to David will alert people to watch their feet at all times.”
Last month, a three-year-old girl was understood to have been pricked by a syringe on a service bus in Summerston, Glasgow. She was treated at the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
The mother revealed that Stagecoach sent a letter to David’s father, containing a cinema voucher.
The letter read: “Please find enclosed £50 voucher for Odeon, I hope that this can be used to take you and your family to the pictures and hopefully help to forget about this awful incident.”
