The mother of a Fife teenager who was bitten by a bat on a camping trip has spoken publicly of her fear that he could develop rabies.
Mother-of-six Frances Gill, from Kirkcaldy, said she has been "in tears" since her son, Dale, 15, started feeling dizzy after being bitten.
The St Andrews High pupil is undergoing a series of vaccinations and has to wait to see if he develops the disease.
He was out camping in woods at Dysart when a bat bit him on his right arm.
"I don't know how long we have to wait to see or if it can be cured if he gets it, I have been in tears about it, its just terrible"
Speaking to BBC Scotland's news website, Mrs Gill, said she lost her son Brian Wright, 18, five years ago after he collapsed suddenly.
She said: "I am very worried that Dale could develop rabies because I don't want to lose another son.
"The doctors say its very rare for someone to be bitten by a bat and that he could get rabies.
"I don't know how long we have to wait to see or if it can be cured if he gets it, I have been in tears about it, its just terrible."
Dale was walking back to his tent in the early hours of Wednesday morning with four friends when a bat landed on his face.
Asthma attack
The youngster said: "I got such a fright. At first I thought it was a bird but when I grabbed it off my face it felt rubbery and rough.
"I threw it away from me but it flew back up and bit me on my arm. My friends were all trying to get it off me and I had so much adrenaline rushing around me that I thought I was going to have an asthma attack.
"I immediately went home because I felt dizzy and was getting pains in my chest. The hospital says I have to get lots of injections and then wait and see."
David McRae, 55, was the first person in the UK to die from rabies in 100 years after he was bitten by a bat in Angus in 2002.
A spokesman for NHS Fife said that it would not comment on individual patients.
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