A family suffered a year of anguish after their five-year-old son pricked his finger on a syringe on Weymouth beach and could have contracted HIV.

What would have been a happy day out at the beach turned into every parent's worst nightmare for Abbie Warren and her husband after their son Henry cut his finger open on a disposed syringe buried in the sand.

As reported in June 2017, five-year-old Henry (who's now six) was playing in the sand with his sister Esther, when he suddenly began crying with a bleeding finger on one hand and a syringe in the other.

The family, who were visiting Weymouth from Stroud in Gloucestershire, immediately headed to the hospital where Henry underwent blood tests and received numerous injections.

Abbie then had to arrange a number of follow-up appointments for Henry to ensure he had not contracted anything from the needle - including Hep C and HIV.

Henry attended his final appointment this month and received the all clear from the doctors.

Abbie said: "We have had a year of worry. Henry has had to undergo four Hep B injections, which are extremely painful, as well as regular blood tests.

"He has cried and begged us not to make him have them, but as a parent it is my responsibility to protect him and so I have had to endure the heartache of watching him go through it to make sure he is well in the future.

"As he sat on my lap he was physically shaking. I hugged him as the injections went in and he tried so hard to hold back the tears. On the way home he said 'it really hurts mummy'. My poor innocent child has had to go through all of this for an entire year due to a day at the beach and it breaks my heart.

"When the tests came back clear it was a huge weight off my mind."

Abbie said the family did return to Weymouth in May but were "nervous" about heading to the beach.

She said: "Henry didn't really dig and we didn't want him too - we played football instead.

"I never want to have to go through that again. He's been such a brave little man and I am super proud of him.

"This has affected him, he's petrified of doctors now and of needles."

Abbie added: "If you are a user of needles, please think and dispose of them correctly. Other people's lives are being put at risk over this irresponsible act.

"A child should not have to go through this due to the carelessness of others."

It comes as the borough council announced Weymouth could lose £620,000 to set up a centre to help tackle the increasing problem of drug and alcohol misuse.