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A sting in the tale for boy, five

Tom Rowley
20/ 8/2008

A TAMESIDE boy is believed to be the youngest victim of the growing scourge of deadly jellyfish on beaches in the south of England.

Five-year-old Thomas Worrall, who attends St Peter’s primary school in Stalybridge, was stung by a Portuguese man o’war while on holiday in Boscombe, Dorset with mum and dad Ann-Marie and Iain and 18-month-old sister Grace.

The stings of the animal can cause excruciating pain and has even caused deaths in humans.

Ann-Marie, 36, of Quarry Rise, Stalybridge said: "He was playing right on the water‘s edge, kneeling down in the sand, and as the water came in he got stung on his leg.

"A lady on the beach had some anti-sting lotion and we put some of that on but he was still crying his eyes out as he was in such terrible pain. We were still concerned so we took him to the pharmacy and by then there were blisters and a really red rash on his skin. They recommended we take him to the doctor’s surgery around the corner.

"I wasn’t sure about how he would react to any antibiotics and we still did not realise how dangerous it could have been. It was only afterwards I found out that people have died from such stings.

"The one that stung Thomas was blue with long tentacles. Apparently there have been more and more of them in the sea off the south of England over the last five years, due to climate change.

Trauma

"Luckily after he was treated with lotion and an ice pack by the emergency doctor, the blisters, rash and swelling improved and he is fine now."

She added that the trauma — which happened on 7 August — was enough to keep the family-of-four away from the beach for the rest of their two-week holiday and they returned to Stalybridge nine days later.

People holidaying in Dorset have been urged not to swim in the sea or touch the jellyfish, which usually live in tropical waters.

A man o’ war is made up of a colony of creatures to form one jellyfish.

The long tentacles can grow up to 165ft (50m) and hang from a balloon-like float resting on the surface.