Teenager's needle scare is finally over

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Sept 9, 2008

A TEENAGER who feared he could have contracted a deadly virus when he was stabbed with a tattoo gun has finally been given the all clear.

It has been an anxious summer for 13-year-old Nathan Cunningham, who was stabbed in the arm with a tattoo needle as he left Boldon School in Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside, with his friends in May.

The youngster was rushed to hospital for vaccinations.

But he was told he would have to wait four months before doctors could say whether he had contracted a deadly virus such as HIV.

But he was finally given the all clear by doctors at the end of last week.

Nathan, of Biddick Hall, South Shields, said: "It's not been a very good summer. Some kids have said they didn't want to play with me any more in case they caught something."

A 16-year-old boy is due to appear at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court in connection with the incident at a later date.