Boy's derelict building warning after 20ft fall

An 11-year-old boy who had to relearn how to walk after plummeting 20ft (6m) through the ceiling of an abandoned building, is warning other youngsters to avoid making the same mistake.

Dylan, from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, was inside the empty warehouse and offices with two friends when he fell through fibreglass, suffering several broken bones and internal injuries.

He said: "I never thought I would fall and injure myself. I was just exploring and I really hurt myself. I am thankful to be alive and making a good recovery."

His mum, Abby, said: "We want to share this story as a warning to others not to enter empty buildings.

"They can have very unsafe structures inside, which can cause serious injury."

The dental practitioner explained she first heard about Dylan's accident in a phone call from her friend.

"I was in complete shock. This is the first time Dylan had done anything like this and I thought it just couldn't be him," she said.

When she arrived at the scene in Stratford, her son was in the back of an ambulance with fractures to his pelvis, leg and ribs, a collapsed lung, and a lacerated liver, spleen and kidneys.

"I was so upset but I tried to remain calm for Dylan," she said.

"Whilst he was awake, they were worried about internal injuries, so he was sent straight to the major trauma team at [Birmingham] Children's Hospital (BCH).

"His pelvis had completely swung open and needed an external pelvic bar and a screw."

After specialist surgery to rebuild his pelvis, the youngster spent three weeks in hospital and needed physiotherapy to help him walk again.

Now back at school and walking without aids, his mum described him as "very lucky" and said his life was saved by medics from BCH and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

"I'm really proud of him for being open about what happened and sharing his story to warn other children about this," she added.

Dylan said: "Thank you to all the nurses and doctors who made me better again."

BCH orthopaedic surgeon James Phillips said it was gratifying to see Dylan make such a good recovery, which several teams had worked on together.

"While abandoned buildings and building sites are attractive propositions to explore, as Dylan has shown, they are dangerous places which we should all stay away from," he added.

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