Javen Davies, who has autism, was with a group of youngsters on land around St Mark's Church, on Bryn Eglwys Road, when he stood on the needle which went through his shoe and pierced the skin of his big toe.

He is now waiting for the results of a number of tests, including HIV.

Desperate father Anthony rushed his son to Wrexham Maelor Hospital – but claims doctors working at the hospital's A&E unit did not do enough to calm fears about the risk of contracting diseases.

Anthony said: "He was playing in the surrounding area of the church and he felt something go through his shoe and one of his friends said, 'it's a needle'.

"One of the youngsters said, 'now you're going to die' as kids do, which wasn't very helpful in the situation.

"I went to the Maelor and they gave it no preference whatsoever. They didn't even treat my son.

"As a parent I am horrified that this could happen to a child playing in their local community.

"What they told me is that there is a very slight chance of infection but that's as far as it goes. They didn't even clean the wound and as a parent I was absolutely devastated."

Mr Davies also says Wrexham Council could do more to cut down on the number of syringes in public places.

He said: "I don't think the local authority are doing enough to clean them up, and I think there should be more stringent control on people who are given hypodermic needles. It's really not good enough."

He added: "I've gone through my GP since and Javen is now going to have tests. I just think it is important to warn parents of the problem and make people aware there are, sadly, dangers with allowing children to play out."

A spokesman for Wrexham Maelor said: "Basically there's not an awful lot we can do in A&E – we should clean up any actual wound. At that age he should be up-to-date with his vaccination for tetanus.

"If there was an infection, that would develop over time. In terms of HIV, you can't test for that in A&E. If there is that concern then tests would be done through the family GP."

John Bradbury, chief environment officer at Wrexham Council, said: "Syringes are removed from public land as a matter of priority and anyone who finds one should contact our Pride in your Streets number on 01978 298989."