A single mum whose daughter pricked her finger on a blood-stained needle discarded on a bus has spoken of the two month ordeal her family endured before finally getting the all clear.

Terri Hessing’s four-year-old daughter Jessica found the used needle down the side of a seat while travelling on an Arriva SB2 bus in January from Stevenage town centre to her home in Exeter Close.

Terri rushed Jessica to her GP who then referred her to Lister Hospital where she had a blood test four weeks later.

The results checking whether Jessica may have picked up some sort of infection from the needle took more than a month to come back.

“The worrying was awful,” she said. “Not knowing was the real issue. The doctors were satisfied she was low risk but that wasn’t much comfort to me. The stress was complete torture.”

During the tests it was established that the needle was probably use for insulin, which is vital for diabetics to help them regulate the glucose levels in their blood.

But as it was smeared with blood doctors believed it may have been used by a drug addict because they tend to draw blood when they inject.

Terri has three other children and said in addition to the mental strain it has put her family under their finances have had to cope as well.

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Not wishing to pour misery on the family’s predicament, I am a little disturbed by the new report that specifies only a 2 month waiting period for an all clear, that realistically might extend for up to 6 months.

Fingers crossed