A teenager who was shot in the face as he played in a park faces an agonising wait while doctors decide how the air gun pellet can be removed.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew Light, pictured here but not wishing to reveal his face, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, thought a stone had hit him as he was on the swings in Bowling Hall Park.

He heard a sharp, cracking noise then felt a stinging in his face and intense pain.

He said: "There was blood everywhere.

"I heard a noise, then the next thing my face was stinging. I put my hands up to my nose and they were covered in blood and it was all down my T-shirt and everywhere."

Park staff and passers-by tried to give him first aid but it was only when he ran home to Sheridan Street that his mother recognised it as an air gun pellet wound.

He believes it was fired from some bushes about 30 metres from the swings he was playing on.

Mum Anne Light said: "When I saw his face I thought: 'That is no nose bleed, he's been shot at.' I was very angry but very worried from the amount of blood. I can't believe anyone would shoot at a child."

Matthew, a pupil at Tong School, was rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary where an X-ray revealed the pellet went in through his nose then embedded in his cheek just below his eye socket.

During treatment the youngster collapsed and was unconscious for about five minutes. Mrs Light said: "The bleeper on his pulse suddenly went into one long bleep and the next five minutes until he came round seemed like a lifetime."

He was later seen by a specialist at Calderdale Royal in Halifax where they told him they would wait until the swelling had gone down before deciding how to remove it with surgery through his mouth to avoid scarring.

The injury, which happened on Saturday afternoon, has left him unable to have vital physiotherapy sessions for his cystic fibrosis as the vibrations make his face sore. He is also having trouble sleeping as the wound is on the side he sleeps on.

Now Mrs Light wants a clampdown on the use of such guns saying they should only be used at clubs or only under proper supervision.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident at 4.30pm on Saturday to contact them on (01274) 376459.