Seaside trip turns to terror after boy is stung by poisonous fish

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Aaron Maughan, 13, staggered bleeding up the beach after he was stung by a weever fish while paddling.

Within minutes he collapsed on the sand before he could tell his grandmother Ann what had happened.

Lifeguards at Seaton Carew, Teesside, carried him to their station as calls went out for an ambulance.

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Aaron Maughan, 13, staggered bleeding up the beach after he was stung by a weaver fish while paddling. Below: Aaron's foot still has a mark where he was stung

Aaron said the weaver fish sting felt 'like stepping on glass'

Luckily Aaron quickly came around after he was given medication but for one horrifying moment his gran had feared the worst.

Aaron was paddling with brother Jake, nine, at about 4.30pm on Sunday when he felt a pain in his foot.

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Lifeguards at Seaton Carew, Teesside, rushed to Aaron's aid

He said: "It felt like I had stood on a nail or glass. I looked down and there were three spikes sticking out of my foot.

"I started to walk back to my gran up on the beach, blood was dripping out - then I just collapsed."

Lifeguards identified the sting as that of a weever fish by the puncture wound on Aaron's foot. They immersed it in hot water to expand the wound and draw out the poison.

But all the while Aaron was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Aaron's father Dennis, an HGV driver, said: "My poor mum and Jake were hysterical.

"My mum said to me afterwards 'I thought we were losing him at one point'. But the medics gave him some Calpol and thankfully he didn't have to go to hospital."

Weever fish bury themselves in sand at shallow water but Debbie Wood, Hartlepool Council's beach safety officer, said it was rare to be stung.

"But regardless of that our general advice to people is always wear suitable footwear when on the beach or paddling in the sea," she added.