Flat window falls out and shatters on Grantham schoolboy

A 10-year-old boy spent four hours in hospital last week after he was showered with glass when a window smashed on his head in Grantham town centre.

Zac Charlton was shopping in town with his mum Megan, two weeks ago, when a window pane fell from a residential flat on Westgate, and shattered over his head.

His shocked mum Megan Charlton, 29, said: “We were just walking along when I suddenly saw something fall from above.

“The next thing I knew, Zac was covered in glass. I thought it was a glass bottle at first but then I looked up and realised it was a glass pane from a window. I couldn’t believe it.”

Megan, who lives on Thames Road, Grantham, rushed Zac to the Accident and Emergency department at Grantham Hospital, where he spent the next four hours under observation and getting tests. Thankfully he was given the all clear but Megan was told to watch out for signs of concussion.

Just over a week on and Zac, who will be going into Year 6 at Isaac Newton Primary School next month, is still suffering from headaches and struggling to sleep.

Megan, who works as a cleaner, added: “He is not sleeping well and keeps waking up throughout the night.

“Something like this should never have happened.

“It is difficult to walk as it is with the state of the pavements. You don’t expect to have to look up when you’re walking as well.”

A police spokesman said: “We received a report that a top floor window had fallen from a property in Welby Street and a boy had been injured and was taken to hospital by his mum.

“Building control at the council attended and cordoned off the area.”

SKDC cabinet member for environment Coun Dr Peter Moseley (Con) said: “We attended immediately after the incident was reported to us. As part of our responsibility under the Building Act we were able to give advice on making it safe and the leasing agent took action to get it fixed.

“While it is the building owners responsibility to ensure that accommodation is safe, an inspection of the rented accommodation was undertaken on Monday (August 20) to ensure that it is being adequately maintained.

“As a result of the inspection a second window is being boarded up as a precautionary measure and contractors are in discussion with both our planning and conservation teams over intended work for this Grade II listed building.”

When the landlord’s local managing agents, Belvoir, were made aware of the incident, they co-ordinated an emergency response between the landlord, the council’s building control department and local window repair contractors.

Carly French, branch manager of Belvoir Grantham, in St Peter’s Hill, said: “ I would like to thank Wendy Lee and the rest of the team for their very swift actions.

“Wendy actually got to the property within 10 minutes of the incident and started to clear up the glass to help safeguard the public.”

A spokesman for property managers, Lee Baron, added: “The inclement weather last Tuesday caused a pane of glass in a listed building to become loose and fall to the ground.

“The property manager of local letting agents Belvoir was immediately on the scene and promptly managed the situation.

“The property managers, Lee Baron, regret this unfortunate and rare incident, and have immediately inspected all the windows in the building.

“They will now be working with the conservation officer to maintain and improve window type and design in keeping with the history of the building.”