Child injured at ‘disgraceful’ playground

Dylan Pulis was racing his friends in the playground in front of Paola primary school last Monday, but the lively six-year-old was not to win that particular race as he fell and started crying.

His mother, Mary Grace, thought her child was kicking up a fuss out over nothing.

“He was playing with his friends, slipped, and started crying... But I was concerned when I saw blood,” she said.

With a month to go until the start of the new scholastic year, a popular playground in front of Paola primary school is still part-play area, part-building site, with stacks of paving bricks encircling a patch of ground which has still not been paved.

Ms Pulis is frustrated that the works are taking over a year to complete.

“It’s a downright disgrace; I took my son to play and instead I had to rush him off to the clinic, all because he was playing in an unsafe environment.”

Dylan’s injuries were far from serious, and although the grazes on his face and arms are still fresh the boy remains lively.

Inmates at Corradino Correctional Facility have undertaken the works at the playing field, though Paola mayor Dominic Grima said the job could not be carried out on his terms since the inmates were doing the work voluntarily.

When asked why the area where the child fell was not secured with a fence and was devoid of any warning signs, the mayor said: “When we closed off the area with a fence, it was torn away four times”.

Mr Grima insisted, however, that the area where the six-year-old fell would not be fenced since “there is no need for it”, and that he did not expect children to be running around in the 10 per cent of the garden which had not yet been completed.

“His mother should be responsible. We first complain that the playgrounds are in a bad shape, and now we’re complaining because we’re doing something about it,” Mr Grima said.

“The playground is safe; the paving is almost ready. Parents should keep an eye on children when they’re playing with the paving bricks on the site, rather than complaining,” Mr Grima said.

Last Friday, the Malta Standards Authority issued a set of guidelines for public playgrounds, outlining basic design, management and inspection requirements. The guidelines specify that playgrounds should be inspected and councils have to repair or remove equipment which is not of an adequate standard.

Councils will also be given special funds to bring their playgrounds up to scratch.