These pictures show the horrific injury suffered by a six-year-old girl after her foot was sliced open when she stepped on a dumped disposable BBQ.
Brave Megan Hanson had to be rushed to hospital to undergo emergency surgery after the freak injury left her foot pouring with blood on June 24.
Her appalled mother Suzanne, 33, believes it could have ended much worse for Megan.
She said: “It cut her left foot right through to the tendons. I can’t even begin to explain how painful it was for her.
“We thought she might lose her foot. She has been so lucky.
“Megan won’t ever play on a beach again, she is absolutely terrified.”
Suzanne and her fiance Neil, 49, were on a break in Harrogate, North Yorks., and Megan was looking forward to a day at the beach with her grandparents.
Little Megan was playing on the beach in Fylde, Lancs., with older sister Faith, 12 and her grandparents when she stepped on the BBQ.
Her shocked grandparents rushed to her aid and applied pressure on the wound which was pouring with blood.
Suzanne said that her mother didn’t even have time to put down a beach towel before the freak injury occurred.
Megan was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital where surgeons performed emergency reconstructive surgery.
“Super brave” Megan, from Thornton, Lancs., had to stay in hospital for 36 hours and had “more stitches than surgeons could count”.
Suzanne, a dementia support worker, has blasted litterbugs who left the barbecue to maim her daughter.
She added: “I have been down to the beach and it is littered with left-over barbecues and broken bottles. It’s just a disgrace.
“There were seven BBQ’s left scattered within feet of each other, all just covered over with sand.
“I could see at least fifty beer bottles on the beach, it’s just not right.
“It’s disgusting and it’s dangerous.”
Megan is now recovering at home but can’t move the foot in fear of re-opening the frightful wound.
She has had to stay off school and will visit hospital today (July 4) to see if she can have the pot removed from her foot.
Suzanne praised the support Megan received at hospital and said: “The surgeons were absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t fault them. They were so lovely with Megan.”
Suzanne hopes that the litterbugs will think twice before dumping objects to ensure that this can’t happen again.
She said: “The beaches are there for everyone to enjoy. It’s not about spoiling people’s fun, its just about picking up after yourself.
“My daughter doesn’t want to go on the beach again. She’s petrified.
“All I would say is please think before you leave rubbish about.”
A Fylde Council spokesman said: “We are very sorry about the injury that has been caused by negligence on behalf of whoever left the disposable barbecue on the beach.
“The Council provides adequate receptacles for the public to use and has a cleaning and emptying schedule as well as coast and countryside rangers that check the area.
“However, some irresponsible members of the public choose not to use the bins provided and bury waste or even tip over the bins which can result in injuries such as this one.
“We encourage all members of the public to either use the bins provided to discard of their rubbish, or take it home with them to avoid such injuries occurring again.”
