Boy's horrific glass bottle injury in Halifax park
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Logan Midgley was playing with friends in Akroyd Park near Bankfield Museum in Boothtown last Tuesday when he was hurt.
A thick shard of glass from the bottom of a beer bottle pierced through his knee and into the joint, severing a ligament and snapping so there was glass in his leg.
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Hide Ad"The doctors have said it's going to be a long road to recovery for him,” said Logan’s mum, Becki Roberts, 32.
"He'll need to go to hospital every two weeks."
The children were knee sliding on grass at the play area when Becki said her 11-year-old felt a “warm” feeling down his leg.
His friends “freaked out” and ran to get Becki, who had to carry her son to her car so she could drive him to hospital.
Logan, who is about to go into Year 7 at Trinity Academy Halifax, needed a two-hour operation to repair the torn ligament and clean the glass out of his leg, and spent two nights in hospital
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Hide Ad"He's been really upset,” said Becki, from Boothtown. “He's been really brave but we don't know if he'll be able to play football again and he loves football.
"He has been in floods of tears trying to learn to use crutches."
Becki said staff at the hospital told her they have seen a rise in the number of children coming to them with injuries involving broken glass.
The Courier reported last month how Town ward councillor Joe Thompson had cleaned graffiti from play equipment at Akroyd Park himself.
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Hide AdBecki praised his actions but is calling for more to be done to clean up Calderdale’s parks.
She said more youngsters are using them during the school holidays, especially as they are a free place to play as the cost of living rises.
Councillor Jenny Lynn, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said: “This is an awful incident and we wish the person involved a very speedy recovery.
“We do all we can to keep our parks clean and tidy. This includes regular patrols and a maintenance schedule to ensure that bins are emptied regularly. Whenever we get reports of glass or other dangerous items in parks, play areas or open spaces, we always respond as quickly as possible to clear the hazards.
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Hide Ad“We look after 110 play areas, 26 parks, seven green gyms and 159 informal open spaces, so we value the support of local people being our ‘eyes and ears’ and helping protect our shared public spaces by safely clearing litter and reporting any issues to us straight away so we can respond quickly.
“We understand that our parks are places to be enjoyed and this may involve taking glass bottles if enjoying a picnic. However, we do urge that people dispose of these responsibly.
“Thankfully, most people are responsible and throw away their waste in the bins provided or take it home. However, unfortunately there are some who leave it for others. This is an offence, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action.”