A schoolboy screamed in agony as his skin broke out in blisters while playing at a popular beach.
Jaxon Hallwood was enjoying a day out with his grandparents, Debra and Ken Patten, at Leasowe Bay beach in Wirral on Saturday, May 27, when he yelped out in pain. The six-year-old was playing in the sand dunes when a small white blister initially appeared on his foot, leaving him unable to walk properly.
He was taken to A&E at Arrowe Park Hospital where doctors were said to have been "baffled" by what the burn-like blisters could be. After doing some research, nan Debra believes the blisters, which continued to grow in size, were caused by giant hogweed.
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The ECHO previously reported giant hogweed, which is dubbed as "Britain's most dangerous plant", had been found growing behind Leasowe Bay golf course in 2019.
Debra, 62, told the ECHO: "Me and my husband took him to the beach, we'd had a fantastic day. We were going to pack up to go home and [Jaxon] was running up and down the sand dunes with other children.
"We were watching him. He went to the back of the sand dune and back to the front. Whether he's put his foot in those weeds as he's ran around..."
"He was running, skipping, and the next thing he came running to us screaming. We thought he'd broken his toe or trodden on a shell."
Debra said Liverpool FC fan Jaxon, who plays football for Marine Academy, is "not one to cry". She said: "He's a footballer, an attacker, so he's used to be taken out when he's playing football he just gets back up.
"He couldn't catch his breath he was sobbing that hard."
Debra said a tiny white blister initially appeared on Jaxon's foot making it too painful for him to walk. The RNLI crew on the beach offered to give the family a lift back to the beach car park, before they went to Bidston Tesco's pharmacy where Jaxon was given pain relief.
But as the blisters continued to get worse, Debra and Ken decided to take Jaxon to A&E to be checked over. Debra said: "The nurses, the junior doctor and the consultant all said they had never seen it before.
"The consultant said he was baffled and didn't know what it was."
Debra said they initially thought the blisters could have been caused by a spider bite, until she shared a post in a local Facebook group. More than 300 people replied to the post, with many sharing photos of similar injuries caused by giant hogweed.
Giant hogweed is an enormous cow parsley-like plant that can cause burns to dogs and humans. The sap is one of the most notable parts of the plant, with its thick green stem having patches of purple and white hairs on it. If the sap gets onto your skin and it's then exposed to the sun, it can cause huge blisters which can then recur over months and even years.
Debra now wants to warn others with children who may be visiting the area in the warm weather. Debra added: "Children play in those sand dunes - it's a play area. It's so popular.
"Jaxon said when he came home 'I never want to go to the beach again. He's only six." Jaxson has got his personality back today.
"He's got a dressing on his foot. He's more upset he can't go to football camp this week."
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