A young girl playing with her family at the Scarborough Bluffs was taken to hospital after she stepped on an old needle while playing in the sand.
Newmarket mom Claire Bradshaw was with her children yesterday when her six-year-old daughter, Ellie, started screaming.
“All of a sudden she started screaming hysterically,” Bradshaw told CTV News Toronto.
“She was screaming that there was a needle stuck in her toe.”
Ellie Bradshaw, 6, is seen playing with her siblings before stepping on the needle. (Photos supplied)
The City of Toronto has been notified about the incident. (CTV News Toronto)
Bradshaw immediately called 911 and was told to take Ellie to hospital.
“They said she was low risk but they took her blood,” Bradshaw said.
“She has to have more blood taken in six to eight weeks.”
Bradshaw said she won’t be going back to any Toronto beaches soon, but wants the city to focus more on keeping them clean.
Bradshaw noticed something was wrong when Ellie started screaming. (CTV News Toronto)
Bradshaw has not heard back from the city regarding the incident. (CTV News Toronto)
Bradshaw contacted 311 after the incident but was only put through to the park manager’s voicemail.
“I left a full detailed message on the machine of the manager, but have still not heard back.”
“I just want to make sure they clean it up, it's terrifying.”
“People can get sick or even die from this.”
Later on Thursday, Bradshaw said she was contacted by a manager with the city who expressed concern over what happened to her daughter. The manager said that signs will soon be installed to indicate which sections of the beach are maintained by the city.
“This morning, city staff were at the beach in search of needles and no needles were picked up,” a spokesperson with the city’s parks, forestry and recreation division said in a statement. “Staff will fill out an incident report with the details to have on file. It's the first time someone has reported being punctured by a discarded needle at this beach.”
