Ananova:

A Croatian soldier who suffered years of stabbing stomach pains has had a four-inch needle removed from his stomach.

The needle remained in Toma Zupan's stomach for 16 years after it was forgotten when army doctors saved his life in a battlefield operation.

He had been seriously injured in 1991 during the civil war that began the break up of the former Yugoslavia.

And incredibly the mistake was never discovered until recently, despite frequent trips to doctors to complain about the problem.

In the end an x-ray at the local hospital revealed the needle in the stomach of Zupan, from Gospic in central Croatia.

The old soldier, now 73, said: "Normally I would have blamed the doctors for the mistake they made back then but at that time but they saved my life when they operated on me - so I'll not be taking the matter further."