A PLUCKY teenager is still shaken today after a freak accident left a twig embedded in his skull.Fourteen-year-old Shane Neacy was walking with friends near woodland in Dales Road, Ipswich, when the sharp, heavy, twig fell from a tree at such a force that it pierced his skull.

A PLUCKY teenager is still shaken today after a freak accident left a twig embedded in his skull.

Fourteen-year-old Shane Neacy was walking with friends near woodland in Dales Road, Ipswich, when the sharp, heavy, twig fell from a tree at such a force that it pierced his skull.

Shane, who suffers from von Willebrand's disease which causes abnormal bleeding, needed a platelet transfusion before the twig could be safely removed.

But the teenager, of Lister Road, off Norwich Road, Ipswich, is now fully recovered, though still coming to terms with the shock of the incident.

He said: “I was walking along when a branch fell off a tree, and I realised I could feel something in my head.

“I touched it but couldn't get it out. It hurt, but not too much.

“I was shaken by it, I was really surprised.”

Paramedics took Shane to Ipswich Hospital where it was discovered the twig was lodged one-and-a-half inches inside his head.

Shane's mum, Vanessa, said: “He needed a platelet transfusion because there was blood around the wound and von Willebrand's disease means he is very low on platelets, which help to clot the blood.

“We were worried about how much he would bleed but once he had the transfer they were able to take the twig out.

“I knew they were going to have trouble taking it out. The nurse tried first but the twig snapped off in her hand. When the doctor eventually did remove it I was surprised by how much was there.”

Have you been involved in a freak accident? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

Von Willebrand's is a blood clotting condition, which is usually inherited.

Suffers have either a shortage of von Willebrand factor, a protein that helps make the blood clot, or something wrong with the factor's structure that means it doesn't work properly.

Von Willebrand's affects approximately one per cent of the population of the UK.

For many people it is so mild that it is not diagnosed unless they have excessive bleeding after surgery or an accident.

Symptoms include frequent nosebleeds, which may be severe, easy bruising, excessive bleeding in the mouth, or bleeding into joints and muscles.

There is no cure for von Willebrand's, but it can be treated effectively.

SOURCE: Haemophilia Society