Horror as four-year-old boy’s toes torn off when his Wellie got stuck on a Tube escalator after watching the New Year’s Day parade with his family
- Boy’s little toe and and part of fourth toe was severed off at busy London Bridge
- Family, of Sittingbourne, Kent, to lodge negligence claim against Network Rail
A four-year-old boy had his toes torn off when his Wellington boot got stuck on a London tube station escalator.
The little boy’s little toe and part of his fourth toe was chopped off in the horror moment at the busy London Bridge station.
The youngster, from Sittingbourne, Kent, had been watching the New Year’s Day parade with his family on January 1, but a ‘lovely day out’ turned to ‘absolute disaster’ when his boot got caught between the step and side of the escalator, the Standard reported.
His panicked parents tried to help, but as his mother desperately tried to find the emergency brake his father picked up and pulled him free – but severed his son’s toes in the process.
A nearby doctor rushed to help the boy and a station escalator technician found the dismembered toes and put them on ice, but medics at St Thomas’ Hospital in London were not able to reattach them.
A four-year-old boy had his little toe and part of his fourth toe torn off at London Bridge tube station after his Wellington boot got stuck in the escalator
The family, of Sittingbourne, Kent, had been at the New Year’s Day Parade but a ‘lovely day out’ turned to ‘absolute disaster’
The boy is ‘really suffering’ and is now ‘terrified’ of going anywhere near an escalator, his father said.
‘I am confident our little boy wasn’t doing anything he shouldn’t have been on the escalator, we were right next to him, and it was such a frightening experience to see him suddenly trapped like that,’ he said.
The family is now lodging a negligence claim through law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp.
They allege the escalator was either faulty, unsafe or in a state of disrepair. Network Rail has denied any liability.
Senior associate Ben Pepper said: ‘This family’s harrowing ordeal really shines a spotlight on the dangers of escalators and particularly the dangers of travelling with children.’
A Network Rail spokesperson said: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our passengers is always our number one priority and our thoughts are with the young boy and his family at this very difficult time.
‘Everyone in Network Rail and particularly the team at London Bridge station are saddened by this incident, however, while the case is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment any further at this stage.’
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