Mum rages at state of park

So said the angry mum of Dylan McGarva, of Braedale Road, after he returned from playing football on nearby Kildare Park with blood gushing from a thigh wound after he slipped and cut himself on smashed drink bottles, left lying in the grass by thoughtless neds.

Now his mum Jacqueline is seriously questioning if the park is maintained well enough by South Lanarkshire Council.

She is worried that another innocent youngster might suffer even more serious injury because broken glass and other debris isn’t cleared up on a frequent enough basis.

Recalling the day the incident happened two weeks ago today, Jacqueline told the Gazette: “Dylan was with his pal playing penalty kicks at the goalposts at Kildare Park. It’s just around the corner from our house and you think your kid’s going to be safe, just playing in a public park.

“After a while he came back in and his tracksuit bottoms were soaked in blood; he said he’d slipped and fallen on a broken bottle.

“When I got his trousers off it was an absolute mess; there was blood everywhere. He was quite calm but I was really, really worried and wanted to get him to a doctors as quickly as I could.”

She contacted NHS 24 which advised her to go to the local Health Centre; however, it was after its public treatment service had ceased for the day at 1pm so she asked the ambulance service if Dylan could be taken to Wishaw General Hospital.

“I was told there would be a four to four and a half hour wait; I couldn’t risk leaving Dylan that long without seeing a doctor and so I had to get a taxi from Lanark to the hospital and back.”

Even with a special discount the taxi firm gave her in the circumstances, this still came to £40 she could ill afford.

She said: “They told me at the hospital that he was a very lucky boy; the wound looked deep enough to me but they said that, had it been any deeper, then it could have been a very serious matter.

“I’m just glad he’s on the mend now but he’s awfully worried that the limp he’s now walking with from the injury will ruin any chances he has of taking up a football career.

“The hospital told us that the limp should wear off in time though.”

She said she had called South Lanarkshire Council to complain about the state of Kildare Park.

A spokeswoman for South Lanarkshire Council said: “The park is cleared of litter three days each week.

“We must all take responsibility for our surroundings and take seriously the consequences for our actions in disposing of all of our waste – be it glass, sweetie paper, a cigarette end or dogs mess.

“We each must play an active part in tackling environmental crime such as this and help to keep our local area clean, tidy and safe for others to use.

“Fixed Penalty Notices of £50 would be issued if someone was found to be littering and these have now been extended to include under 16s.

“We do, however, need the assistance of the public to help us combat littering which spoils the park for users.

“Anyone who witnesses vandalism and littering should report the matter immediately to the police.”