A TEN-YEAR old Teignmouth boy ended up with a wooden spear embedded in his leg, after a visit to a play park.

Connor Roe was in agony after the four-and-a-half inch splinter of timber pierced right into his thigh when he sat on a bench at the award-winning Den play area.

The wood pierced right through his leg, and medical staff at Teignmouth Hospital had a difficult task trying to remove it.

Teignbridge Council has now decided to make more frequent checks on the condition of similar seats in parks.

Mum Jan, of Glendaragh Road, said: There was no end sticking out when we took him to the minor injuries unit the whole lot was in his thigh. They had to use scissors to push into the wound to try and find the wood, and pull it out.

Connor was in great pain, and screaming while they probed into his leg. He did not have any anaesthetic It took them about 20 minutes to extract the wood, and I nearly fainted watching them do it, and had to leave the room.

The staff at the hospital did a good job under very difficult circumstances, and hopefully the wound will heal without any infection setting it.

She added: Connor was quite brave, and although he was still in a lot of pain earlier this week, he insisted on going back to school, Our Lady & St Patricks. He loves sport, but obviously will not be able to take part for a while.

Jan said Connor was running around the popular play park with friends, when the incident happened in the evening.

It was quite nasty, but could have been a lot worse, especially if he had been a younger child.

I immediately told Teignbridge Council, and they sent some workmen to have a look. Apparently several of the benches were showing signs of wooden splinters, and they sanded all the seats down.

I think they should check the benches regularly for this sort of wear and tear, and I will be submitting a compensation claim for Connors ordeal.

Cllr Anne Fry, Teignbridge recreational services spokesman, said: We were really sorry to hear about this unfortunate accident, and hope the lad makes a full and speedy recovery.

We would reassure the public that the benches are checked regularly, with the last inspection at the end of June.

The benches in this area are not normally susceptible to splintering, but it can be caused by the occasional misuse of skateboards.

Now we will making even more frequent inspections.