Teen forced to have surgery after tongue-piercing

London: A girl of 15 needed an emergency operation after having her tongue pierced in a tattoo parlour.

Reece-Marie Hall, who had claimed she was 16, began to bleed heavily following the £15 (Dh83.9) procedure to insert a silver bar.

She was taken to hospital by ambulance and had to be placed under general anaesthetic before doctors removed the bar and stemmed the bleeding from a suspected ruptured vein.

Her case is a warning to the thousands of young people every year who have their tongue pierced.

"At first my tongue didn't bleed, but after I left the shop, the tongue started pouring with blood," said Reece-Marie.

She returned to the shop, where staff gave her some gauze. But when she arrived home in North Hull, her 35-year-old mother Leeanne called an ambulance.

The family say they are considering suing the shop.

There is no minimum legal age for body-piercing although the city council recommends parental consent be sought for under-16s.