The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mother’s shock after son finds serrated blade while playing.
DANGER: Warning to parents and youngsters as 10-year-old Leyton narrowly avoids injury from blade
A Fife mother has spoken of her shock after her son was almost seriously injured by a large serrated blade while playing in his village.
Leyton McCulloch, 10, slipped as he was running on a patch of grass in Cardenden, known locally as the Green Hill, on Tuesday night . He landed inches from the unidentified weapon lying on the ground.
The land was also littered with broken glass, but it was the two-foot long, sawlike object which alarmed both Leyton and his mother Claire Davidson who had been out with him at the time.
“We were out with the dog by the Green Hill in Cardenden and it used to be a great open area to play football in and take the dog for a walk,” explained Claire, 37.
“Leyton was running around and down the hill and then he slipped and just missed landing on this huge knife. I’ve no idea what it could have been used for but it would almost certainly have taken a chunk out of his leg if he had landed on it.
“The area is covered in broken glass and rubbish, which is a real shame.
“Kids should be able to play in areas like that but who knows what you’ll find out there?”
It is not known exactly what the sharp object was or how it came to be in the field but Claire hopes youngsters will pay extra attention amid fears someone could be seriously hurt.
The Green Hill, which is just off Cardenden Road, and the nearby railway viaduct, have been used as gathering spots for local youngsters for many years. More recently, the area has attracted teenagers who have reportedly been drinking alcohol and involved in fire setting.
Broken glass, plastics and other debris have been highlighted as particular problems beneath the viaduct, which is next to a footpath leading to Hyndloop Terrace, and Cardenden Community Council has also expressed concerns about the situation in recent months.
Dawn Jamieson, Fife Council’s safer communities team leader, said: “We are aware that this area has had some issues with young people and anti-social behaviour and it is an area already patrolled by our officers.”
It used to be a great open area to play football, now it is covered in broken glass and rubbish. Kids should be able to play there but who knows what you’ll find. CLAIRE DAVIDSON