Mum’s horror after children find needles (From Thisisdorset)

Mum’s horror after children find needles

11:30am Wednesday 18th June 2008

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A MUM has told of her horror after her daughter scratched herself with a dirty syringe that was left in a holiday park caravan.

The hypodermic needle was one of three discovered by the Thorpe family in a caravan at the Weymouth Bay Holiday Park.

Mum-of-three Sarah Thorpe, 29, said her five-year-old's discovery was every parent's worst nightmare.

She said: "The children were playing with their teddies and I came back into the caravan and my daughter Sophie said Mummy, I've got a secret'.

"Sophie opened the drawer of a bedside cabinet and showed me this needle and my heart was just in my mouth.

"It may as well have been a loaded gun. It was every mum's worst nightmare come true."

Mrs Thorpe panicked when she realised that Sophie had scratched her finger on the needle.

She said: "I was in tears and I felt physically sick.

"We looked in the cupboard and found two more needles in there. We were all in shock."

The family, from Southampton, were in Weymouth for a weekend break.

Mrs Thorpe has sought advice from a needle stick specialist at Southampton General Hospital.

She said: "We've been told that one of the needles was clean but the others were dirty and had powdered substance around them."

Although the specialist told the family any risk of infection was minimal, they still face an anxious wait for blood test results for Sophie and three-year-old Jessica, who both touched the needle.

After complaining to managers at the Haven-owned park, the Thorpes were offered a weekend break in October.

But Mrs Thorpe says she won't be taking them up on their offer.

She said: "I wouldn't go back there if they paid me to. I want a written apology and a thorough investigation.

"I waited a whole day to speak to the park manager, but I wasn't able to.

"Haven is meant to be a family-friendly holiday park but our holiday was completely ruined. It was the only holiday we were having this year and it was meant to be a celebration for my eight-year-old daughter's birthday.

"The children have now told me they never want to stay in a caravan again."

Haven have since informed Mrs Thorpe that they have discovered that the needles belonged to the owner of the caravan who is believed to suffer from a medical condition.

A Haven spokesman said the company regrets the incident and confirmed that Haven staff are responsible for cleaning the caravan.

He added: "The staff were very attentive and Mrs Thorpe was taken care of by two senior members of staff - our customer care manager and the assistant sales manager.

"They did apologise and tried to help arrange another holiday for her."

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