A Fife mum has spoken of the ongoing emotional impact of a horrific playpark accident which left her two-year-old daughter seriously injured.
Stacey Philip fought back tears as she revealed her fears she may never be able to take her three children to a park again.
And she worries toddler Esme will have to deal with the toll of an obvious facial scar for the rest of her life.
It’s now three months since the youngster, from Rosyth, was hurt when a heavy metal fence collapsed on her at Letham Glen in Fife.
Esme was rushed to hospital where she had to undergo surgery to repair a deep wound on her forehead.
However, despite full-scale investigations by both Fife Council and police, Stacey and husband Kyle are no closer to finding out how the devastating incident happened.
They are angry at “a complete lack of communication” on the part of the local authority.
“I get emotional because this just shouldn’t have happened,” said Stacey.
‘We keep thinking, what if…’
Esme, who will be three next month, was playing happily at the park with brothers Warren, seven, and Isaac, five, in the moments before the accident on July 25.
They were with grandparents Amanda and Fraser McDonald, from Leven, when the tot stepped onto the bottom spar of a fence surrounding an ability swing.
An entire panel fell onto her face and knocked her over.
And bolts that should have been holding the fence together were later found on the ground nearby.
“I was only able to go back there for the first time two weeks ago,” said Stacey.
“None of us as a family feel we’re in a place where we can take the kids to a park.
“I don’t just mean the Glen, I mean any park.
“It was one of those things we couldn’t anticipate and I know the chances are it won’t happen again.
“But we keep thinking, what if…”
Stacey says the children spent the entire October school holidays stuck in the house as a result of her fears.
‘Upset and angry’
She said: “My mum was getting quite tearful yesterday just talking about it.
“We’re holding the kids back and it’s not their fault.”
“Some days I’m upset and some days I’m really, really angry.
“It’s frustrating because when it first happened, the council said phone us if you need us, we’re there for you.
“But since then it’s been: ‘Let’s look after Fife Council, not let’s look after Esme’.
“No two-year-old deserves that. It’s like it’s done and dusted.”
She added: “It’s such a mix of emotions.
“I’m so disappointed in how it’s been handled.
“We were told Esme would be the main focal point but she isn’t.
“Fife Council contacted my mum for the first two or three weeks but they haven’t contacted me once.
“They haven’t even bothered to ask how she is.
“We’re still in the dark and we feel our two-year-old daughter is being made out to be a problem.”
Stacey and Kyle don’t blame any single individual for the incident.
“We don’t want any person to have that on their shoulders,” Stacey said. “That’s not the end game.
“We just want them to put Esme first and say we’re deeply sorry she’s come into this park and come out facially scarred.
“Fife Council hasn’t said sorry. There’s just been nothing.”
‘We just need answers’
It’s now a few weeks since Esme’s stitches were removed and her scar is still prominent.
And Stacey is worried about the effect this could have on her daughter’s self-esteem as she grows up.
“It’s early days but it’s still bright red and it’s right in the middle of her forehead,” she said.
“She looks different and it’s something she’s going to have to deal with later in life.”
Esme’s wound was so deep it had to be stitched in three layers.
“There were so many stiches the surgeon lost count, but I could see 32 individual stiches in the top layer alone,” said Stacey.
“Esme keeps saying she fell over. If she sees pictures of the fence she says ‘ouchy’.
“I don’t know what she would be like if we physically took her there.
“It’s affected us as a family and we just need answers.”
Fife playpark accident: Who removed bolts that caused metal fence to fall on two-year-old?