A mum whose three-year-old son put a used needle in his mouth is calling on the town council’s support.

Jaynee Mace attended last week’s Lyme Regis Town Council meeting to ask for sharps bins to be installed in the town’s toilets after the incident with her son, Morgan, in September.

Morgan found the needle while ‘hunting for snails’ during a walk and was taken to hospital. He is being treated as though he has hepatitis B and has had blood tests and vaccines, with the most recent results coming back negative.

Jaynee started to speak at the meeting, but after becoming emotional, Cheryl Reynolds read out her statement.

It said: “On September 17, my three-year-old son Morgan found a used needle on a pathway whilst hunting for snails. He took the safety cap off the needle and, although he didn’t prick himself, he did admit that he had put the needle in his mouth, believing it was simply, ‘something that doctors use to make you feel better’.

“He saw nothing dangerous about what he did because he is three and innocent and believes that I, as his mummy, will always keep him safe. I failed.

“The weeks since then have been hell. He’s had his first lot of blood tests which we received the results of. Thankfully they are showing negative so far. He is being treated as if he was exposed to hepatitis B as it is so easily transmitted and so he is receiving the three-dose vaccine.

“With the first injection he had to be pinned down, whilst crying and screaming, ‘daddy please stop them hurting me’.”

Morgan had another injection this week and will have another on November 3, followed by his last lot of blood tests in December. The family will get the results around Christmas.

“After what happened to him and us, I was angry and scared and I wanted to do something to try and stop another family having to go through what we are.

“I started an online and paper petition to ask to have sharps bins installed in Lyme’s toilets, to date it has 419 signatures.

“I am asking that something is done to show myself and these people of Lyme that their opinion matters.

“Lyme, like every other town, city and village, is not immune to drug problems. People are injecting and hiding the fact and they are being careless with their needles.

“Morgan didn’t find the first needle in Lyme, our local PCSO has found them and so have our council workers. The council workers don’t have to report they find them to the authorities, so this does not give us a true representation of the problem.

“I am asking you to please consider sharps bins in the public toilets, to also do some type of school and media promotion to explain to children and adults what to do if a needle is found and where it can be taken to be disposed of safely.

“I need to know I have done everything to keep my children safe and to prevent another family having to go through what we are and I’m asking you to help me.”

The issue of sharps in the town and the possibility of hosting a regular needle exchange scheme was set to be discussed at last night’s town management and highways committee meeting.

Dorset councillor Daryl Turner received a statement from Cllr Graham Carr-Jones, Dorset Council community safety and housing portfolio holder, which he posted on social media.

It said: “I am very sorry to hear about this incident and my sincerest sympathies go out to the family.

“Council officers have met the family and discussed installing boxes for needles in public toilets. However, there have been no incidents of them being found in the town’s public toilets this year. Records also suggest that less than 10 people in Lyme might need to use this service and needle exchange services already exist in the town to meet their needs.

“This was a terrible incident, but it also appears to be an isolated one.

“After considering it carefully, we do not believe that having boxes for needles in public toilets would have prevented it, although it would give local people and visitors the impression that the town has a widespread drug problem, which it does not.”

In Dorset, needle exchange is available in many pharmacies and also through REACH, which is the service that provides treatment for people who have issues with alcohol or other drugs.

REACH run a satellite service from the Bethany Chapel in Lyme Regis on Mondays between 9am and 5pm. The REACH team offer personal sharps bins to anyone collecting needle exchange supplies.