A COUNTY family is still facing an agonising wait to find out if their five-year-old daughter has HIV or hepatitis - almost seven months after she was pricked by a drug user's needle.

Last August, the Worcester News reported that little Andrea Griffin, had found a syringe near to her home at Thatcher's Court, Westlands, Droitwich, and accidentally pierced her skin.

Parents Martin and Lesley were told when they took her to Worcestershire Royal Hospital straight after the incident that more blood tests would be carried out in November.

However, the tests have not taken place, and the family does not know for sure whether Andrea has either of the diseases.

Mr Griffin, aged 45, said he was amazed to read in the Worcester News on Wednes-day, February 22, about the Reeve family from Malvern whose two-year-old son Connor was also pricked by a discarded needle.

Within a week, preliminary tests had revealed that he did not have HIV.

Mr Griffin said: "Their results came within a few days. Why is ours taking so long? I telephoned the hospital in October and asked what was going on and they could not find the results.

"I have been up three times and they won't tell me anything. They say that they'll send it to our GP but they haven't. We may seem calm but we aren't. It never leaves our minds."

He added that since Andrea's visit to the hospital in August, when blood was taken for tests, she has become frightened of doctors and nurses.

A spokesman for Worc-estershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We will be contacting Mr Griffin directly about this issue."