By Dave Gudgeon

Last updated 12:28, Friday, 22 August 2008

A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy suffered serious head injuries after falling about 25ft while playing inside a derelict garage at Abbeytown, near Wigton.

Seriously injured: A youngster fell 25ft while playing in the garage in Abbeytown

The youngster, who was with friends at the time, was flown directly to hospital by air ambulance following the accident last Sunday evening.

He was still detained in the Newcastle General Hospital last night where his condition was described as critical but stable.

His parents are believed to be at his bedside.

A police inquiry is being carried out which also involves Allerdale Council. The Health and Safety Executive was also informed of the incident

Council officers have been trying for months to persuade the owners of the disused garage, which is in Laurel Terrace, to clean up the property.

A police spokeswoman said the boy, who is not being named, was playing inside the disused and derelict building with friends when he fell about 25ft to the floor from a rafter. It happened about 7pm.

He was taken directly to the Newcastle General Hospital by air ambulance for specialist treatment.

It is understood that the garage has been disused for a number of years.

It is one of several ‘eyesore’ properties that Allerdale housing chiefs earmarked earlier this year for special attention.

Housing chiefs said they were asking all the owners to provide details of how and when they intended to carry out improvements to the buildings.

If they failed to do so, the council was prepared to employ contractors to do the work and bill the owners.

An Allerdale Council spokesman said last night: “It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that their property is secure.

“Allerdale Council has asked the owner to secure the property on several occasions – in 1999, 2000, August 2005 and November 2005. All of these requests were complied with.

“This is a long-term dilapidated property which was put onto the council’s ‘hit list’ of 20 such sites in 2007.

“Further to this, in February this year, it was selected one of four properties from the list to be specifically targeted for action by the council. We wrote to the owner to inform him of this.

“Allerdale Council has been monitoring the site and over the last few weeks has been preparing a Section 79 order, demanding work is undertaken to repair or demolish the site, ready to serve it upon the owner later this year. A Section 79 order is a last resort as a piece of legislation and the owner has co-operated with the council’s previous requests to secure the site.”