Parent’s warning of play area gate danger

A LOCAL mum is warning other parents of the dangers of play area gates after her daughter was injured in an accident.

Melanie Metcalfe’s daughter, eight-year-old Evie, received a facial injury after the gate to the Hornchurch Road play area swung back into her face.

“Evie was excited and ran through the entrance, but the gate slammed back into her face,” explained Melanie. “This is clearly an issue for all play areas as two other children in Chippenham suffered similar injuries last month.

“The nurse at the hospital said that if the injury was a little bit higher, Evie could’ve lost an eye – she is very lucky.”

Melanie has raised her concerns with Melksham Parish Council who are responsible for the play area, and has suggested solutions to prevent further accidents, including placing rubber protection on the gate. 

The parish council has said that the gate is a ‘low-risk’ item and that the play area meets current safety standards according to RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).

Melanie said, “I understand that the gate meets the safety regulations of RoSPA – and the gate is safe if opened by an adult. But children get excited and will run through the entrance, so the gate will come back at them with force. Rubber padding on the gate could make the difference between a short-term injury and a life-changing one.

“At the very least, I want to make parents aware of the potential danger of these gates, so they can talk to their children about it and prevent future accidents.”

Speaking to Melksham News, Melksham Without Parish Council’s clerk, Teresa Strange said, “The parish council is really sorry to hear about the accident. However, we do believe that all that is reasonable has been done in terms of maintenance and inspection for the  Hornchurch Road play area.

“(The gate) is a low-risk item, but occasionally accidents do happen. These gates have to be self-closing – roughly within four seconds – it has to be that speed to prevent something like a dog following a child into the area.  

“The parent has suggested that the gate be modified, which we have investigated with RoSPA. According to RoSPA, no one has ever put rubber at the top of a play area gate to prevent injuries.

“Another suggestion has been to use a hydraulic system to close the gate – but this makes it heavy to open, and would be difficult for wheelchair users to use. Also, it creates an entrapment risk – fingers getting trapped etc.

“The parish council took over this play area from Wiltshire Council after they closed it, spending £25,000 to make it safe again. The play area is inspected weekly by our caretaker who is trained to RoSPA operational inspector level, who also produces a quarterly written report. In addition, an annual independent inspection by RoSPA is carried out on the play area – the last independent inspection was in September.”

Above: Eight-year old Evie Metcalfe and her facial injury.