Mum’s anger at waste ground glass as daughter is badly cut

Two year old Daisy Toman spent around three days in two different hospitals after cutting her hand on broken glass close to her north Lurgan home.

The toddler had been walking a short distance with her mum from her home in Campbell Walk to her grandmother’s house across the waste ground.

The concrete surface had been strewn with shattered bottles and glass and the two-year-old was rushed to Craigavon Hospital with a large chunk of dirty glass sliced into her little hand.

Daisy arrived at Craigavon Accident and Emergency at around 2.45pm but by 7.10pm she had been sent home as staff were unable to deal with her wound. She was referred to the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald the next day. Her mum had been asked to give her only a light breakfast at 8am. However mum and daughter were told at 5pm that evening that due to the number of emergencies they were unable to treat her.

Starving Daisy and equally hungry mum were sent home but they were asked to return on Tuesday again with the request that the tiny toddler only eat a light breakfast.

Clare, who has another little boy Jacob, aged five and a half who attends Tannaghmore Primary School, is furious at the state of the waste ground.

She claimed the area is cleaned only twice a year and is constantly full of glass.

“They should make it into a play area for the children,” said Clare.

“The council don’t clean it at all, even though they clean up the streets and other alley ways. It’s a big enough area to make into a play area for the wee ones.

“If they put a fence around it to protect it, it would make a great wee place for the children to play,” said Clare.

She said that the local people regularly go out and clean the area themselves but even so every Monday morning it is full of glass.

“I think it belongs to the Housing Executive as many of the houses here used to belong to the NIHE. Maybe if the council took it over they could make it into a wee park for the kids,” said Clare.

A spokesperson for Craigavon Council told the Mail:“Council does not own any land in the vicinity of Campbell’s Walk. It’s not council policy to clean land which does not fall under its ownership. In addition, council already provides a fully equipped and fenced play area at North Lurgan Community Centre just across Levin Road.”