Five-year-old boy falls into 8ft manhole after cover left loose

In a shocking incident, a five-year-old boy fell down into an 8 feet manhole outside his home after the cover was left loose.

The incident occurred in Ilchester, Somerset when he was playing on a stretch of grass close to the family’s terraced house.

The youngster luckily landed on a ledge and escaped with minor bruising and small grazes, but is now suffering from nightmares, said his mum, Natalie Walton.

It’s believed he fell into the sewer after his seven-year-old friend was able to move the manhole cover, which was not bolted down.

A neighbour from across the road saw the accident and pulled the child from the drain. Natalie, a 33-year-old youth worker, said: ‘It was terrifying.

‘We are very fortunate that he managed to land on a ledge and that it happened when the weather has been good or the drain would have been full. ‘He has nightmares, bless him, and he won’t walk on drain covers.’

Her son was then taken to a minor injury unit in Glastonbury to be checked over. Natalie said the boy, who she wants to keep anonymous, cannot swim, so a full drain would have posed a high risk.

She reported the faulty cover on the day of the accident and Wessex Water arrived at the property within an hour.

After assessing the drain cover, the workers left and returned the next morning to repair it.

But Natalie, who lives with her husband Shane, a soldier and three children, said she doesn’t feel the incident has been taken seriously enough because it wasn’t fatal.