A MUM has put out a warning to youngsters playing practical jokes after her son was injured in a jape that went wrong. Twelve-year-old Haydn Middleton, from American Lane, Huntingdon was playing tag with friends when he ran full tilt into a rope which had

A MUM has put out a warning to youngsters playing practical jokes after her son was injured in a jape that went wrong.

Twelve-year-old Haydn Middleton, from American Lane, Huntingdon was playing tag with friends when he ran full tilt into a rope which had been tied across the ramp of a stairway as a joke. Haydn somersaulted over the rope and banged his head on the steps, knocking himself unconscious.

He was rescued and taken home by a family friend. The burns to his neck were so severe that he was off school the next day with a bad headache. He had lumps on the back of his head and scratches on his back.

His mother, Natalie, said: "He looked as though he had been nearly decapitated and he was found unconscious. There was no malice in this, it was just a practical joke that went wrong, but I want to raise awareness about how this sort of thing can happen. The family is not sure whether the rope was a shoe lace or the cord from the bottom of a jacket."

The youngsters were playing in the grounds of Huntingdonshire Regional College. Anne Constantine, college principal said: "The college does not wish to comment on what appears to be a childish prank that went badly wrong.