Ananova:

A toddler with suspected chronic asthma was found to have a metal screw in his lungs after he was rushed to intensive care.

The 19-month-old boy, from Bonn in Germany, had been having severe difficulties breathing for weeks.

Doctors at the Sankt Augustin hospital had tried a number of different asthma treatments but were getting nowhere.

As the boy's condition worsened, he was admitted to intensive care where he was given a battery of tests including a chest x-ray.

Specialists immediately spotted the true cause of the problem - a screw stuck inside the child's lungs.

Martin Schneider, head of the Child Cardiology Unit, said: "The screw was really deep down in his lungs. It took two hours for doctors to remove it using a heart catheter with a mini lasso on the end."

The boy's parents confirmed they had been building flatpack tables last month and assume the child must have put the screw into his mouth, tried to swallow it and it had gone down his windpipe into his lung.

Dr Schneider said he is recovering well and was likely to be released from hospital shortly.