THE mum of an infant who cut her hand open on discarded broken glass has called on the council to be more vigilanttowards litter in public parks.

One-year-old Georgie Beckett had to undergo surgery after she fell on shards of glass on the path at her local park in Kilbirnie.

Georgie’s mum Jodie Waite said: “I think I’m still in shock. “She was leaving the park with her dad and there was glass all over the path.

Georgie fell and her hands went right in it. “They came home and Georgie’s dad’s t-shirt was covered in blood; drenched. You couldn’t see Georgie’s hands for blood. She was screaming.”

Jodie and her partner took Georgie to A&E and an X-ray later revealed a large shard of glass embedded in the infant’s hand.

Jodie said: “On the X-ray you could see the big triangle of glass stuck in her hand.

They said, ‘She has to get stitches and we’ll have to put her to sleep, it’s far too big’. They had to open her hand up to make the wound bigger [to get it out].

“It’s absolutely horrendous seeing your baby getting taken away for something like that.

“Her poor wee hand, she just can’t use it. “She started walking a couple of months ago and she’s still using both hands to try and steady herself, but she can’t use that hand when she falls over.

She ended up bursting her lip the other day because she couldn’t put both hands out to break her fall.”

Jodie said that it’s too early to say if there will be lasting damage to Georgie’s hand or whether she will need more treatment. But the mum from Kilbirnie said that she wants North Ayrshire Council to monitor parks more closely to prevent another child getting injured.

She said: “I phoned the council and put a complaint in. I had somebody up to my door and they said all they can do is apologise.

“I said about wardens checking the park – they’ve only got someone once a week. That isn’t appropriate at all. You’ve got people out every day sweeping the streets, why not a park where you know children are going to be playing?”

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “We are sorry that Georgie fell victim to these mindless acts of vandalism and littering. We are glad she is on the mend and hopefully she will be back playing in the park soon.

“Upon hearing about this incident, a Streetscene officer visited Ms Waite and little Georgie on Friday (June 29).

“We advised that the play park and surrounding area is inspected and cleaned on a weekly basis and that litter picking is also carried out prior to a fortnightly grass cut.

“Unfortunately, despite these efforts to keep the park safe and tidy, there are clearly a small number of individuals whose disregard for the park ruin it for the families, dog walkers and children who enjoy this great outdoor space.

“To help prevent an incident like this from happening again our Streetscene Environmental Enforcement Officers will be carrying out patrols of the area in an effort to catch those responsible for such acts.

“If you would like to report any instances of environmental crimes such as littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling, please contact the team on 01294 321000.”