Sheffield schoolgirl could have lasting eye damage after fall on 'dangerous' obstacle course

Pupil Ebony Dowling, aged seven, caused potentially permanent damage to her left eye after falling on play equipment at Prince Edward Primary School, Gleadless, on Monday.

Mum Stephanie Holland, 28, has now slammed the school for letting her daughter on the equipment in wet weather - and not taking her to hospital immediately after the accident.

Stephanie said: "This wooden obstacle course gets so slippery and dangerous in wet weather, children should not have been on it in the first place.

"Ebony has fallen and hit her head on a stump at the side of the course. She's obviously hit the stump with such an impact. You look at her face, it's a right state."

Stephanie, of Gleadless, has also criticised the school for not taking Ebony to hospital immediately.

She said: "Doctors said she should have gone to hospital straight away. This was a serious impact to the head and she needed checking out."

However, Stephanie did not take her to hospital until around 4pm when the brusing started to show - around three hours after the fall.

"There were no concussion issues," said Stephanie. "But doctors noticed that Ebony has damaged her left eye.

"She's already been for one eye assessment and has to go for more tests later this week. Doctors have said she could have permanent damage to her eye.

"What's worse is, the eye damage might not have been so bad if she had been taken to hospital straight away. I'm furious."

Matt Sieczkarek, Head teacher at Prince Edward Primary School said:“While we make sure all our play equipment is safe, there is always a chance that accidents can happen and that’s why we have two adults supervising our children at all times on the play area. We also restrict the numbers of children using it at any one time​.

Our supervisors will assess the conditions of the playground before it is used. This does mean making sure the playground and obstacle course is safe during wet weather but this doesn't prevent the obstacle course being used.

“After the accident Ebony was looked after by our qualified first aiders. They looked after Ebony so that she didn’t need an emergency vehicle to take her to hospital but a parent to collect and make that call themselves. We hope Ebony has a speedy recovery.”