A YOUNG boy has been shot in the leg while playing in a children’s playground.

The seven-year-old was hit in the thigh by an airgun pellet as he played with pals at Allenby Recreation Ground, Waterloo, Poole, on Sunday afternoon.

He’d only just been allowed to play in the park without his parents, as his family home is close by, but now he’s too scared to venture out on his own.

His shocked mum, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals, told the Daily Echo: “My son came running through the door saying he’d been shot. I just went into shock. He pulled his trousers down and there was this black wound on his leg. I just burst into tears.

“Who the hell messes around with guns on a Sunday afternoon near a children’s play area? I’m absolutely fuming.”

The young lad was treated by medics, but the pellet didn’t fully penetrate.

In the aftermath of the shooting, armed Dorset Police units rushed to the scene and attended an address that backs onto the park.

The mum-of-two said: “The park has just been refurbished, so its absolutely full of kids at the moment. There’s never been any trouble over there and all the kids get on great.

“After I called the police they were here within two minutes – they were brilliant, absolutely fantastic.

“My son is scared; he doesn’t want to go over to the park anymore. It’s really sad. It’s only in the past two months that I’ve allowed him to play out there on his own, as I can easily keep an eye on him.

“He thought he was a real grown up, now that has been ruined.”

A 20-year-old Poole man was arrested and released on police bail while investigations continue.