A WALL which collapsed and left two children seriously injured had been inspected after a complaint was made just 16 days before the incident occurred in Bretforton.
Passers-by pulled the five and seven-year-olds out of the rubble in New Street today (Monday) at about 8.45am before they were rushed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. One of the youngsters was airlifted with leg and back injuries while the other received facial and leg injuries.
Concerns were raised to Wychavon District Council on January 22 about the safety of the structure and a building control officer was sent out three days later. He then advised the owner to carry out repair work and a safety inspection to ensure it was no risk.
A specialist in dry stone walling visited the resident and deemed the wall ‘no immediate danger to the public’ on February 1, but some repair work would be carried out as soon as the weather improves.
Jack Hegarty, Managing Director of Wychavon District Council, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the two children and their families involved in this incident and we wish them a speedy recovery. I can confirm a complaint was made to us about the condition of the wall on 22 January, 2016.
“An officer from Building Control visited the site three days later and the owner was advised on 26 January to carry out work to repair the wall as well as a safety inspection to ensure it posed no immediate risk to the public.
“We take this matter seriously and will review the case to ensure there was nothing more we could have done.”
