A two-year-old boy was left with serious injuries after a car smashed through a fence and into the playground of a nursery in Ellesmere Port on Monday morning.
The vehicle ploughed into the outdoor play area at Partou Sunny Days Nursery and Pre-school on Vale Road in Whitby just before 09:55 BST, Cheshire Police said. The toddler was taken to hospital with injuries that officers described as “serious”, though the force later said they were “not believed to be life-threatening”.
“A 63-year-old woman arrested after car crashes into nursery playground, seriously injuring a two-year-old boy”
Two other children were also hurt, sustaining minor injuries after being hit by fencing that was torn apart in the crash. Their next of kin have been informed, police confirmed.
A 63-year-old woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. She remains in custody as detectives work to “fully establish the circumstances” of what they believe was an “isolated incident”.
Paramedics from the North West Ambulance Service joined officers at the nursery, which was cordoned off while investigations continued.
A spokesperson for Partou, which runs the nursery, said: “We can confirm an incident occurred today at our Sunny Days Nursery setting in Ellesmere Port involving a vehicle entering an outdoor play area. This is an extremely distressing incident and our immediate focus is supporting the children affected, their families and our colleagues at the nursery.”
The nursery added that it was in contact with the families involved and was doing “everything we can to support them during this extremely difficult time”, while working closely with police and relevant authorities on the investigations.
Local MP Justin Madders said he was “deeply saddened” to hear about the crash. “My thoughts are with the young child who has been seriously injured and their family at what must be an unimaginably difficult time,” he said. “I am also thinking of the other children involved, their families and the nursery staff who have experienced a traumatic incident.”
Police officers remained at the scene on Monday afternoon to continue their inquiries.