A RADCLIFFE family were left horrified after their young son stepped on a used syringe that had been thrown into their garden.

Kody Walsh, who turned nine this week, was playing in the back garden of his home in Bury Road on Sunday, July 17, when he accidentally stood on the needle, which still had blood in it.

The Radcliffe Hall Primary School pupil was immediately rushed to hospital by parents, Hayley and Mark Walsh, and is facing months of injections to help protect him from any diseases he could have contracted from the syringe.

Mrs Walsh, aged 38, said this is the latest in a series of troubling incidents near their home and has appealed to the police and council for help tracking down whoever was responsible.

She said: "He went out into the garden and stood on this needle, which had been freshly used and still had blood in it.

"He gave out a scream and came running back inside. I took him straight to the hospital and he has had to have loads of injections.

"I have spoken to both the council and the police about it, but they say that they don't know where the syringe came from so they can't take any action.

"We have had problems around here before, and have reported noise complaints to the council. Once, there were people robbing next door with machetes and on New Year's Eve there were police officers around our property all night.

"It is heartbreaking when you think this is going on with children around."

Mrs Walsh, who has four other children aged between six and 19, added: "The back garden is where the kids play because the front of the house is on the main road, but Kody hasn't been back out playing in the garden again since this happened.

"Kody has had vaccinations for hepatitis B and C, and for tetanus. He will need two more boosters. I don't think he understands much about what the medical situation is, but he knows he has to have a lot of injections.

"It has been difficult, but he has been all right. It was his birthday on Tuesday and he was very excited about that. He had a round of injections on Monday and had to sleep for most of the day."

A police spokesman confirmed that they had been called to the address following the incident, but no action has been taken as it is not known where the syringe came from.

They added: "An area officer is aware of the incident and will be making further contact with the boy's parents."

A Bury Council spokesman said: "We have received a complaint from a resident about concerns relating to a syringe being found in her garden, a matter which we take very seriously.

"We will be raising this at a weekly partnership meeting we have with the police and key partners, which is part of our joint approach to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour in the borough."