Council's urgent warning after deadly discovery in public baths

A Sydney council is warning members of the public to practise extreme caution around a popular swimming spot following a child being taken to hospital after apparently handling a blue-ringed octopus on Wednesday.

Residents in the Hunters Hill area have been told to remain on alert after the incident at Woolwich Baths, on the city's Lower North Shore. According to a Hunters Hill Council spokesperson "a member of the public informed us that a child had an encounter with a blue ring octopus" at about 2pm.

Public warned after apparent deadly discovery

"Council has installed signage at Woolwich Baths to warn swimmers," the spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia. "We always advise people to keep children under active supervision at all times in or around water."

According to NSW Ambulance, the young boy was transferred to Royal North Shore but "appeared to have no injuries" and was released soon after.

Speaking to Yahoo News, Professor of Marine Ecology at UTS David Booth said it's "definitely possible" the boy handled the deadly creature. "I'd definitely think it's possible, I've seen them in Sydney Harbour before and nice — well maybe not — to see one reported from upstream," he said.

Woolwich Baths are found about half way along the peninsula surrounding the Lane Cove River and are about 20 kilometres from the nearest ocean beach, where most sightings occur.

Mum finds blue-ringed octopus in son's bucket

The incident comes days after a mum described the terrifying moment her young son scooped up a blue-ringed octopus at a popular family fishing spot and warned others, saying, “I still feel sick about it".

• Warning after deadly creatures found where 'kids play all the time'

• Aussie boy's innocent beach mistake with deadly blue-ringed octopus

• Aussie mum shares 'scary' moment four-year-old boy scoops up deadly octopus

Kaila Screen, from Newcastle, NSW, said she was walking about half a metre off shore at Speers Point Park in Lake Macquarie on Tuesday morning with her four-year-old son Kade who was searching for marine life using a plastic blue bucket.

"He was trying to catch fish and water creatures and was walking along the shore with his bucket and no shoes on," Screen told Yahoo News Australia. "He saw something move and wanted to chase it. I thought it was a fish but it wasn’t swimming very fast."

Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.