A LITTLE boy on his way to nursery was left shocked and bruised after falling into a hole and getting stuck fast.

Four-year-old Logan Heaney was walking along a verge close to Darlington Memorial Hospital when his leg plunged into a deep hole obscured by grass.

The youngster was left trapped knee-deep in the hole, with his mother fearing she would have to call upon the fire brigade to free him.

Kerry Heaney was taking Logan to the nearby George Dent Nursery when she took a shortcut, using the path next to flats between the hospital and Woodland Road.

Logan was playing on the grass verge running alongside the path when his leg fell into a hole left after a sign was removed.

Mrs Heaney, from Darlington, said: “He just seemed to disappear from sight – I thought he’d knelt down but when he didn’t get up again, I realised what had happened.

“He didn’t see the hole and neither did I, it was completely covered by grass and lined with metal, it looked like it had been there a while as it was full of dead leaves.

“He was stuck and I thought I’d have to call the fire brigade.

“Luckily, we were with two ladies who were also walking their little ones to school and they helped me to get him out.”

Calling for the area to be properly maintained and the hole filled in, Mrs Heaney added: “He could have easily broken his leg and had it been one of the younger children, they probably would have.

“This could have really injured my little boy, who is now covered in bruises – the hole should have been filled as soon as any sign was removed.

"I'm not looking for compensation, I just want something doing about it and to warn other people that it's there."

The land is managed and maintained by housing company Thirteen, whose spokeswoman said: “As soon as we were made aware of this issue we sent a team out to inspect the area.

“On further investigation, it appears that a small hole left over from signage that was removed at some time by the previous owners and had not been filled in.

“A team will be on site today to fill in the hole and to check over the rest of the site.

“This is a private housing scheme and whilst we are happy for people to use the route as a shortcut we would encourage them to stick to the footpaths and bring any concerns to our attention.”