Girl, 8, left traumatised after her foot is impaled on a rusty metal barb as she walked on beach

‘It hurt like a ten out of ten’: Little girl, eight, is left traumatised after her foot is impaled on a rusty metal barb as she walked on the sand at a popular beach

  • A girl, 8, was rushed to hospital after her foot was pierced with a metal wire
  • She collapsed on the beach and was given oxygen by surf lifesaving crew
  • X-ray shows the hooked-tip caught in foot and meant she could not remove it 

An eight-year-old girl has been left traumatised after her foot was impaled on a rusty metal barb as she was walking on the sand of a popular beach.

Abi Cook was taking part in a Nippers Surf Life Saving event in West Beach in Adelaide when the sharp object pierced her foot on Saturday afternoon. 

‘It hurt like a ten out of ten,’ Abi told 9News.

A rusty metal barb wire pierced the foot of an eight-year-old girl on the sand of a popular beach 

Abi Cook (pictured) was taking part in a Nippers Surf Life Saving event when she stepped on the barb and collapsed 

Abi Cook (pictured) was taking part in a Nippers Surf Life Saving event when she stepped on the barb and collapsed 

She collapsed on the beach and surf lifesaving crew rushed to her aid.

Abi was given oxygen after she was taken to a nearby surfing club before an ambulance took her to the Women’s & Children hospital.

An x-ray showed a tiny hooked-tip caught inside her foot, which meant the barb could not be pulled out immediately at the beach. 

The barb was removed and she was released later at night.

‘It was just awful, not the sort of thing you ever want to see your child go through,’ her mother Rebecca, who was with her during the incident, said.

Locals collected dozens of similar metal pegs and barbs on the same day.

Environment minister David Speirs said the city of Charles Sturt needs to put up bunting and warning signs in certain areas to avoid similar injuries occurring again.

City of Charles Sturt CEO Paul Sutton said staff have been checking the beach but fencing off isn’t the answer.

‘The high tide comes all the way up to the rock walls so any bunting or whatever would get washed away with the next high tide,’ Mr Sutton said.

A graphic x-ray showed a tiny hooked-tip caught inside her foot, which meant the barb could not be pulled out immediately at the beach

A graphic x-ray showed a tiny hooked-tip caught inside her foot, which meant the barb could not be pulled out immediately at the beach

A team of council workers will scour the beach with metal detectors on Tuesday morning.

Four other injuries have been reported in the past few days, including nine-year-old nipper Carys Kemp, who also cut her foot on a barb.

Fortunately, the barb didn’t pierce into her foot but her mother had spent an entire day cleaning the wound, which cut the surface of her skin. 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk