A five-year-old Forster girl was taken to a Newcastle hospital after falling six metres from the first-floor window of her family’s unit.
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About 8.30pm on Christmas Eve the five-year-old girl was playing with her six-year-old sister on a window sill in the North Street residence.
Police have been told the younger child fell through the window screen onto the concrete slab five or six metres below.
Ambulance officers attended and she was taken to Manning Base Hospital in Taree with a fractured skull, fractured ribs and bleeding on the brain. The child was later transferred to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital, where she is reported to be in a stable condition.
Police have spoken to the parents and the incident has been determined to be an accident.
However, police are appealing for parents and anyone caring for children to be vigilant, particularly when the child is near an open window or in high-rise accommodation.
A few safety tips include:
• Ensure windows are secure;•
Ensure windows cannot be opened more than 10cm, except by an adult OR have a securely fitted window guard;
• Window fly-screens are not ‘child-proof’ and do not prevent a child from falling from an open window;
• Don’t place furniture in front of windows. Keep objects that a child can use to stand or climb on away from windows (including beds, cupboards, chairs and other furniture);
• Keep windows locked and closed if a child is left without adult supervision.