A family is facing an agonising three-month wait to find out whether or not their three-year old son has picked up any infections after he found a used needle on the ground and put it in his mouth.

Jayne Mace was with Morgan,3, in Lyme Regis on Tuesday and while he was walking just behind her 'looking for snails' on the path from Kingsway to Staples Terrace, he found a needle with its cap on with no syringe.

She said: “I turned as he said, ‘look this is what they use to make you feel better’. He had the cap in one hand, the needle in the other. I instantly took it off him and checked he hadn't pricked himself. He hadn't but then informed me he had in fact put it in his mouth.”

Morgan was taken to hospital where the needle was checked and was found to have dried blood on it.

Jayne added: “He’s now had to have a tetanus booster and blood tests in case he’s infected with anything. We will get the results in two weeks, then in three months he has to have more tests as some diseases take longer to show in your blood.

“Three months of stress and worry for our family, all because someone was lazy or careless with their needle. Whether it was illegal drugs or prescription medication we have no idea and to be honest, either option scares me. All I know is I hate whoever you are for putting my family through this.”

Jayne wants sharps bins to be installed in Lyme’s public toilets and has set up a petition for this, which has already gained 109 signatures.

She said: “I only put it up around 9pm last night. It’s getting quite the response and I am going to do a paper petition as well. We have had so much support.

“On October 9, I am also going to go to the town council meeting and say what I want to happen.

“It’s been so stressful. Morgan doesn’t know what’s going on, but he knows it was a big deal. The worst bit for us now is the waiting.

“The results of the third blood test will get to our doctors in about two weeks and another blood test in mid-November, so the results are likely to get here for Christmas - they need to be clear.

“The doctors said there was a slim chance he could have something, but it’s still a chance.

“It was so good that he told me he put it in his mouth. It was a great big needle and looked clean, but it was only when it was tested at the hospital, we were told it had dried blood on it.

“He has seen some things on TV about needles making people better, so in his head it was a good thing.”

To sign the petition, visit http://bit.ly/2kHNhqj

Cllr Daryl Turner, Dorset councillor for Lyme Regis, received a statement regarding the incident from Public Health Dorset and a meeting is hoped to be set up before the end of the month.

It said: "This is a terrible thing to have happened and the family has our sympathy.

"We work in line with the latest evidence and government guidance and there are safe options for disposal of needles across the county, including in Lyme. We can explore installing public sharps bins in Lyme as we have done in other areas.

"We can also do some specific outreach and education work in Lyme to understand how this happened and to raise awareness of how needles should be disposed of.

"We are working with partners to explore how we might reduce drug-related litter across the county, including discussions of safer injecting facilities/drug consumption rooms.

"We continue to implement and explore broader interventions to reduce injecting drug use in general."