Grandmother's horrifying discovery at children's playground: 'Disgraceful'
When Tina Kouras took her granddaughters to a local playground, checking the equipment for hidden blades never crossed her mind.
While picking up pieces of rubbish as the girls played, the woman was shocked when she found a double-edged razor blade in the play area, saying "chills went through her" when she made the horrifying discovery.
The blade was found in the wood chips of the playground, making it hard to spot.
'Good idea to check equipment'
Ms Kouras had taken her five-year-old and 18-month-old granddaughters to the O'Conner Park playground in Shepparton, Victoria, when she noticed the silver blade out of the corner of her eye.
"After about 20 minutes of playing I had been walking around picking up pen lids, sharp steel glass bottle lids, Ms Kouras told Yahoo News Australia.
"I walked under the slide which has a climbing wall at the rear of it and noticed a double edge blade razor."
"Chills went through me," she admitted. "I took a photo, picked it up, and put it in the bin."
Ms Kouras said she had to act quickly, wrapping the blade up and throwing it in a bin.
"I wanted to get them [my granddaughters] off the playground into the car just in case there were more razor blades hidden in the chip bark," she explained.
Ms Kouras posted a photo to a local community Facebook group, warning parents and caregivers to be careful when their children are playing.
"[It would] be a good idea for parents to have a quick check of play equipment in any playground they take kids to," she suggested.
Locals shocked by the find
Parents thanked Ms Kouras for bringing the hidden danger to their attention.
"Thanks for posting!" one user wrote. "I’ve never thoroughly checked but I will now!"
"That's bloody disgraceful who thinks of this stuff," another wrote.
Ms Kouras rang the local council who have reported the incident to the police.
"Greater Shepparton City Council advises residents to report incidences of syringes, blades or any dangerous objects on public property directly to police so it can be safely removed and investigated," a spokesperson from the Greater Shepparton City Council told Yahoo News Australia.
"Please do not touch or attempt to remove the item and provide a precise location when reporting. If possible wait until the site is attended to direct police."
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