A recent report from Lancashire highlighting the danger of climbing scaffolding.
CHILDREN have been warned about the dangers of climbing on buildings after a 10-year-old boy fell through the roof of an old mill.
Brandon Brooks suffered horrific facial injuries when he crashed through a glass panel in the roof of Bankfield Mill in Bankfield Street, Deane, while trying to get a football.
Since the incident on Wednesday, police have visited all five schools in the area to talk to children about the dangers of climbing.
Among them were Brandwood, where Brandon is a pupil, Sunning Hill and St Mary’s.
Police spoke to every pupil and warned them about climbing on scaffolding around building sites as well as on roofs.
They will also speak to Brandon when he gets out of hospital.
The youngster was lucky not to suffer any brain or spinal injuries in the fall, but he broke his jaw in three places, knocked out several teeth, chipped his elbow and had cuts and bruises all over his face.
He had an operation to put metal rods in his jaw at the Royal Blackburn Hospital on Sunday. Brandon is now unable to open his mouth more than a few millimetres, and will have to take all his food through a straw for up to eight weeks.
His mum, Emma Horrocks, of Hibernia Street, Deane, said: “He’ll have to take care of his jaw for the rest of his life. Brandon is willing to do anything he can now to tell other kids not to climb. He’s lucky to be alive, but the next one might not be.”
The accident happened when Brandon climbed on to the roof of the mill, which now houses several industrial units, to get a football.
After he fell through, his friends used a T-shirt and firstaid kit to dress his wounds and stem the blood flow.
Sgt Rob Knight, from the Bolton Central Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have attended all the five primary schools in the area to speak to all of the children and remind them about the dangers of climbing on roofs and scaffolding.”
There is a huge need to be safe around scaffolding, you have been warned !
