A horrified mum has described the moment her little boy was spiked with a filthy hypodermic needle on a popular beach.

Noah Ripley, seven, is being forced to undergo rounds of hepatitis-prevention injections after being jabbed while playing at Ramsgate Main Sands on Monday.

Partly buried beneath sand on an area of concrete behind The Royal Pavillion Wetherspoon pub, the needle pierced the skin on Noah’s finger.

After noticing her son’s injury, shocked Lucy Dhaliwal found the dirty syringe and immediately alerted lifeguards, before rushing Noah to Boots chemist.

Once the cut was cleaned, Noah ended up in A&E, requiring injections to prevent hepatitis, three days of antibiotics, and blood tests, for which the results have yet to be released.

The 38-year-old mum described how doctors were “horrified” by the injury to her son, who will now require subsequent jabs as a precautionary measure for the next year.

“I took him to A&E and they were extremely shocked at what I was telling them and couldn’t believe what he had come across at the beach,” she said.

“He’s got autism so what he had to go through completely traumatised him and we were there for six hours.

“He had to go through all the trauma in the hospital, blood tests, and needles - which he doesn't like anyway - and it was just unnecessary for a young boy trying to enjoy his summer holidays.”

While the syringe has now been removed, broken glass was still present in the covered and concreted area on Wednesday.

Ms Dhaliwal explained the beach was “absolutely packed with hundreds of families” enjoying the sunshine on the day of their visit.

The Margate mum-of-four, who has recently been unwell, was enjoying a day out with her children, having visited the nearby boating pool and ridden the open-top bus.

Describing how the trip had been ruined, Ms Dhaliwal explained: “I was really worried about where that needle had been, what had been in it and what my son had possibly caught.

“As a parent it makes you feel sick - that’s my little boy.”

The upset mum does not want another youngster to go through the same thing.

She explained: “I was extremely angry - our children should be able to play in a safe environment where they don't come across things like that.

“Yesterday made me no longer feel safe bringing my kids down here to play.

“The council needs to step up and sort the situation out.

“Any child could have got hold of that and unfortunately, it was mine.”

Ms Dhaliwal says she now wants to see more thorough beach cleans “so no other families have to go through what we went through”.

“We should be able to come down here and not worry our children will be able to get hold of glass or something worse,” she said.

“It's just not fair - we should be able to have a happy day and not end it like that.”

Thanet District Council has called the leaving of dangerous objects such as syringes on the beach “absolutely unforgivable”.

The local authority said searches of the area were carried out and no further needles were found.

A spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear of the incident on Ramsgate Main Sands.

“A needle was disposed of safely and further checks of the area were undertaken at the time.

“No further needles were found then, or during another check by council officers on Tuesday morning.

“We will continue to check the area as part of our routine cleansing and Kent Police and Ramsgate Town Council are also aware.

“Our beaches, six of which have Blue Flags, are cleaned on a daily basis to remove a wide range of rubbish left by beach visitors.

“We employ litter pickers on our most popular bathing beaches, which includes Ramsgate Main Sands.”

Thanet council also has dedicated beach crews who work from 6am to 8pm throughout the summer season collecting litter from the beach and an increased number of bins.

The spokesman continued: “It is totally unacceptable that anyone leaves litter at the beach, but leaving hazardous waste such as used needles is absolutely unforgivable.

“If anyone finds any harmful items on our beaches we ask that they not touch them but report it immediately either to the bay inspector located at the beach or to a beach cleaner.

“Alternatively, they can call us on 01843 577000 so we can arrange for the item to be safely removed by our trained staff. This will be dealt with as a matter of urgency.”