DOCTORS at Musgrove Park Hospital have apologised after plastering the wrong leg of an injured Wellington toddler.

Playful Lucy Rylatt, just 23-months-old, injured herself on a trampoline while on a family holiday at their caravan in Williton in July.

Her parents, Samantha and Dave Rylatt, of Westford Close, Westford, noticed she was in pain and got her checked out at Minehead Hospital.

Lucy couldn’t be x-rayed because it was out of hours but it was established there was a suspected fracture in her RIGHT leg, however when her parents took her to Musgrove, doctors ruled it was her LEFT leg following an x-ray and plastered it.

Doctors then realised there was no fracture.

“We took Lucy to Musgrove and they suspected a fracture in Lucy’s left leg and put it in plaster,” said Dave. “When we went back a doctor told us she was fine.”

The error meant Lucy was walking on a broken leg for five days, before the worried parents noticed something wasn’t right and decided to check things out further.

Dave added: “Lucy was hobbling around and we noticed she was uncomfortable. “Samantha contacted Minehead Hospital and we took her straight there.

"An x-ray showed it was actually her right leg that was fractured and they plastered it.

“We’re not after compensation because that’s taking money out of our own pockets and I don’t believe in that.”

Samantha and Dave say that when they contacted the NHS it took a week to get a reply, but Musgrove says it responded within three working days.

A spokesman said: “With an un-witnessed accident and no obvious signs of injury, such as swelling, bruising or deformity, it can sometimes be difficult to identify the site of injury in very young children.

“To protect children from the risk of radiation we don’t request x-rays unless there are sufficient concerns.

“Unfortunately, having examined Lucy, the doctor felt it was the left leg that was injured. We're very sorry.”