The parents of an eight-year-old boy who was pricked by a needle left at a park playground have detailed their agonizing wait for his blood results.
Daniel Edgar said his son and a friend were playing in the sandpit at the Dixon Park Playground in Esperance, south-east of Perth, on Saturday when they were both pricked by a needle.
The father-of-three told WA Today he was stunned when his son returned home and told him he’d ‘found a drug needle’ and rushed to the park with his wife.
Daniel Edgar’s eight-year-old son was playing with a friend at the Dixon Park Playground in Esperance, south-east of Perth, on Saturday when they were both pricked by a needle
The father-of-three said he was stunned when his son returned home to tell him he’d ‘found a drug needle’ (pictured is one of the needles found at the park)
A total of seven used and unused needles were removed from the park by police (pictured is one of the needles found at the park)
‘There were six little bags scattered around the park and I looked in one of them and there were needles in it,’ he said.
‘I put all the bags in a bucket and we took my son to the hospital and they did a series of blood tests.’
‘Knowing he has been pricked by one of those needles is terrifying and it’s been the longest two days of my life. As a parent, you sit there fearing the worst that the result will come back with something,’ he said.
Mr Edgar told Daily Mail Australia his son’s initial HIV and Hepatitis C tests have come back clear, but he will require ongoing tests over the next four months.
Mr Edgar said he called the police, who removed seven used and unused needles from the park, according to the Esperance Express.
The wait for his son’s blood test results has been agonising, Mr Edgar said (pictured is one of the needles found at the park)
He also posted pictures of the needles in an online community group to warn other parents.
Shire of Esperance chief executive officer Matthew Scott told the publication the playground will be cleaned with high pressure hose on Tuesday and the sand will be replaced on Wednesday.
Police are offering a $500 reward for anyone with information.
‘We want some sort of information to get this situation sorted out fairly quickly,’ he said.
‘This is disgusting and this sort of thing just cannot be tolerated – pure and simple.’