A six-year-old girl was airlifted to hospital with head injuries after a park gate apparently fell on her at a popular play area on Sunday.

The accident happened at around 1.15pm on Sunday, at the Petersfield Avenue entrance to Central Park in Harold Hill.

A helicopter ambulance was called and took the girl to Oldchurch Hospital, where her condition on Wednesday was described as stable.

Sgt Mick Adamson of Harold Hill Police said: "This needs to be fully investigated, but it appears at this stage that the gate simply rusted away and became unsafe on its hinges."

Former Mayor of Havering Del Smith, who has campaigned for years to have the railings removed from Central Park, told This Is Essex: "My main concern and that of other campaigners has always been the appearance of the railings.

''I never imagined that something like this might happen. You would expect somebody to notice when they fall into such a state of disrepair. I suspect that they are not being locked, which completely defeats the point of having a fence."

A spokesman for Havering Council said: "We are extremely concerned about this distressing incident and a full investigation is currently being carried out.

"As a precaution an inspection of all our park gates is taking place."

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