A teenage girl needed emergency surgery after having her tongue pierced.

Reece-Marie Hall was taken by ambulance to Hull Royal Infirmary after a vein apparently ruptured.

The girl paid £15 for a silver bar piercing at Classic, in Saville Street, Hull city centre to celebrate her birthday.

But the 15-year-old, of north Hull, was left with blood dripping from her mouth.

She told the Mail "At first my tongue didn't bleed, but after I left the shop was tongue started pouring with blood. I kept choking."

Reece-Marie returned to the piercing shop, where staff gave her some gauze.

She later called into Body Art in Princes Quay Shopping Centre, where she was earlier refused a piercing because she did not have parental consent.

Staff instructed her to go to hospital.

Reece-Marie, of north Hull, said: "I went home to my mum who called an ambulance. I was really scared."

On reaching hospital, Reece-Marie was immediately sent for surgery to remove the piercing stuck in her tongue.

She said: "The doctors put me to sleep using an oxygen mask, which kept filling up with blood, and they surgically removed the bar."

Her mother Leeanne Hall, 35, said: "I called an ambulance and Reece-Marie was taken to hospital while I tried to find someone to look after my two young boys.

"I had a phone call off the surgeon saying I would have to come down straightaway and sign a consent form for surgery.

"When I got there I nearly passed out there was so much blood.

"Reece-Marie now has a lisp and I can't always understand what she's saying. I hope it isn't a permanent thing."

Reece-Marie, who also has trouble eating following her ordeal, is on three types of medication.

She said: "I am taking iron because I lost too much blood and I am also on antibiotics and paracetamol.

"My tongue is not as swollen as it was, but it has stitches in it and it's very painful."

The Mail contacted Steve Rowe, of Classic, who confirmed he carried out the piercing.

But he blames the teenager for her ordeal, insisting she must have "interfered" with the piercing after leaving the shop.

He said: "She was on our premises for at least 10 minutes after she had the tongue pierced, she paid me and she left happy.

"She didn't come back for about half an hour, and when she did I applied minimal pressure for about one minute and the bleeding did stop.

"But she wouldn't leave it alone and kept making it worse. I think she took the bar out herself and put another bar in. She didn't like the size of it."

Mr Rowe said he was adamant he had not caused Reece-Marie's injury.

He said: "I have been doing this for 30 years and before I puncture the tongue I check for veins and turn away two to three people a day because their veins are in the way.

"It's a mystery, because she stayed on the premises for 10 minutes after with no ill effects."

A spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed Reece-Marie was admitted into hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

A spokesman for Hull City Council said its Environmental Health department had been informed about the incident.

Tattooing and piercing parlours are covered by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provision) Act 1982.

Under the act, people offering tattooing and piercing need to be registered with the local authority, as do the premises.

The act covers sterilisation procedures on the premises and looks at the cleanliness of operations.

However, unlike tattoos, legal guidelines do not impose a minimum age for body piercings.

Tracy Harsley, head of Citysafe at Hull City Council, said: "There is no lower age limit for skin piercing, but when we register operators who provide piercing services we recommend they don't pierce young people under the age of 16 without consent from a parent or carer."

Reece-Marie's mother said she was surprised her daughter was able to get her tongue pierced.

She said: "I didn't think she would be able to get it done because she's under 16, but I understand she told the guy in Classic she was 16 years old and he believed her."

East Hull solicitor Neil Hudgell confirmed his legal firm had been instructed by the family and they are considering a legal claim against Classic.