A BOY was "absolutely traumatised" when a used syringe penetrated through his boot into his foot while he played rugby in an Abergavenny park.

Ten-year-old Rhys Meadows was playing with his team mates after a training session in Bailey Park when the needle embedded into his boot.

The youngster, who attends Our Lady and St Michael's School, went to Nevill Hall and had to give blood samples and have an accelerated hepatitis vaccine and tetanus jab.

His father Geraint said he was concerned about why the needle was in the park and now wants to warn others of the possible danger.

Mr Meadows was at the park with the Abergavenny Under 11s mini rugby coach Steve Jones when it happened.

He said, "We had just finished rugby training and we were walking across Bailey Park. The kids were playing with the ball like they normally do.

"The ball bounced and Rhys ran to get it. The next thing I knew he was coming up behind me crying and I could see a needle had gone through the side of his rugby boot. "Because it was so dark I pulled it out and had a look. I couldn't see any signs of blood but in Nevill Hall there was a spot on his socks. They were not really concerned as it appeared to be an old needle.

"I am concerned however, that there are needles in a public area like that. I wrote to Monmouthshire County Council and the letter I got back said the cleaning teams carry 'sharps boxes' and can deal with this. That made me more concerned - are they saying it's a constant problem and if it is an old needle, how had they missed it?

"There are always children running around the park playing rugby, football, the general public use it and there are always toddlers playing there. I am worried that it will happen to someone else. It's become apparent in the park that there is a lot of broken glass and mess. When I was a young lad the park was an asset to the town.

"Rhys had to have an accelerated hepatitis vaccine and a tetanus jab, they have taken blood samples to keep. He was absolutely traumatised when it happened.

Unfortunately it happened to my son but it could have happened to anyone. I did not think the response from the council was brilliant to be honest. If they said 'we can assure you it does not happen on a regular basis' rather than they have 'sharp boxes' I wouldn't be wondering how many needles do they pick up there on a weekly basis."

Mr Jones said, "We are trying to encourage the children to play rugby and keep fit and there are used syringes lying around the park. Luckily he was OK but it could have been very different and it could happen again."

The club is one of the most successful in Wales and around 200 children take part. They meet every Wednesday evening at Bailey Park.

David Davies Monmouth MP said, "It is appalling that drug users are using the park and leaving needles lying around like this. I shall be writing to the police to ask them to investigate drug use in Bailey Park.

"I hope that more can be done to encourage a clean up. It is quite difficult to deal with needles. It requires a level of risk.

"It's just symptomatic of the society we live in where in your own town, like Abergavenny, you have people using needles and throwing them around recklessly.

I'm so sorry that the little boy, who was just playing his rugby games came to harm by selfish individuals who society would be better off without," he said.

Abergavenny's mayor, Councillor John Prosser this week called on the police and MCC to inspect the area.

He said, "I was disturbed to learn of the unfortunate incident. This is a sad reflection on the times we live in. I have contacted the mother of the boy and I am pleased to hear he appears to be alright, albeit he will have to have ongoing checks.

"I have discussed the matter with Tim Bradfield the Recreation Officer for MCC who has responsibility for maintenance of the park. He assures me his team will apply extra vigilance in the suspect areas to try and ensure the park is safe for all.

"We cannot allow our young people and park users to be put at risk in this way. We must try to remove drug related activities from our park and create a safe environment."

Jenny Taylor, Chair of Abergavenny and District Tourist Association said MCC should increase funding to carry out regular 'spring cleans.'

"How disgusting is this? The main concern must be for our residents but thought must also be given to the tourism aspect of our town. 

"Do visitors really want to visit a town renowned for its rubbish, and dangerous rubbish at that? Please take a look round, Bailey Park and Castle Meadows are classic examples.

"I appreciate that our council are aware of the problems but, as usual, funding is an issue.  MCC must increase the funding at the very least thus protecting our residents and visitors from further potentially lethal accidents.

"By keeping our town clean and encouraging everyone to be aware of the problem,we can all do our best to ensure the safety of residents and our tourism, a major input of finance in these desperate times."

Tim Bradfield, Recreation Officer at MCC, said, "We were very sorry to hear about this incident and we understand how much distress this must have caused the child and his family. 

"We do all we can to clear the park of dangerous objects - our landscape unit carries out litter picks twice a week within Bailey Park during the winter and they remove any obvious litter they see including broken glass and syringes.

"In addition, if we get reports from members of the public about syringes or broken glass we react as a matter of urgency.

"This case was most unfortunate. Our maintenance staff are only able to pick up what they see and this is done by hand but staff do pay extra attention to any known areas of the park that may contain unwelcome debris such as syringes and they are removed immediately.

"Our staff make every effort is made to keep the park in a safe condition. The incident occurred at 7.05pm and the maintenance staff finish work at 3.30pm in the winter so it is possible that the syringe was deposited in the park in this period when it becomes dark.

"We'd be very grateful if people who use the park would report anything untoward they see to the One Stop Shop."