A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl required stitches to treat the latest injury inflicted by a bird kept in a North-East park.

Ruby Porter, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was at South Park, in Darlington, with her mother, Sally, and sister, Jamie when the incident happened on Thursday.

She put her finger through wire mesh at the aviary in the park when the bird took hold, taking the nail off the end.

As reported by The Northern Echo last week, the white cockatiel has been responsible for a number of other, similar, incidents.

Darlington Borough Council has now installed protective perspex sheeting to stop children putting their fingers through the wire.

Mrs Porter, 36, took her daughter to Northallerton for treatment.

However, two days later, the wound had still not healed and Ruby was taken to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where she required three stitches.

Her father David Porter, 44, said: “My wife turned her back for one second and Ruby had been injured.

It was very distressing.

“Doctors said she was lucky she did not lose the end of her finger.”

A Darlington council spokesperson said: “We want visitors to have a positive experience when they visit South Park.

“With this in mind, council staff have installed perspex panels to prevent young children from putting fingers into the parrot enclosure.

“The panels are temporary measure and will be replaced by something more permanent in the near future.”