A Tauranga grandmother is warning families to ensure their children are wearing shoes after her granddaughter stood on a hypodermic needle at a popular Tauranga family park.
Like many other families, Linda Valentine was enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon at Memorial Park with her family.
Valentine and her granddaughters Allarose, 7, and Sadie, 6, had been in the carpark on the Devonport Rd side of the park, walking towards the memorial pools when Allarose stood on the needle.
"She just screamed and [the children's mother] bent down to look at her foot then looked on the grass to see what had hurt her and found the needle."
The family went into the pools, where staff found a bag for the needle and checked on Allarose, who was "not crying but upset".