Parents of girl, 2, who plunged 40ft from bedroom window are arrested for neglect

Parents of girl, 2, who plunged 40ft from bedroom window are arrested for neglect

  • Police have arrested the parents of a two year old girl who fell from a window
  • The pair are being questioned on suspicion of neglecting their daughter
  • They are also being questioned on suspicion of possession of a Class B drug
  • The girl, who is suffered life-threatening injuries is in a ‘serious condition’ 

The parents of a toddler who suffered life threatening injuries when she plummeted 40ft from her bedroom window in a block of flats were last night arrested on suspicion of neglect.

The two year old girl had to be airlifted to hospital after falling from her third-storey window on Thursday evening.

She was fighting for life but was today understood to be in a ‘serious but stable’ condition.

 The parents of a two-year-old girl who fell from a third storey window in Portsmouth have been arrested on suspicion of child neglect

Witnesses said they heard a 'loud thud' after the girl landed on the pavement outside the apartment complex in Portsmouth, Hampshire

Witnesses said they heard a ‘loud thud’ after the girl landed on the pavement outside the apartment complex in Portsmouth, Hampshire 

Hampshire police later arrested a 29 year old man and a 26 year old woman on suspicion of neglecting the child and were last night being quizzed in relation to the accident in Portsmouth on Thursday evening.

Residents from the five storey building described how they heard a ‘massive thud’ when the two year old girl fell and that her mother was ‘hysterical’ while her father rushed to the girl’s aid as she lay seriously injured on the street.

Neighbours said they understood the toddler’s bed in the flat is close to the window, leading to the fall.

Eye witness Emma Reilly, 31, said a metal telephone junction box on the street below broke her fall and if it wasn’t for that the toddler ‘would have died for sure’.

Mrs Reilly, who lives in the block, said: ‘I heard a massive thud from outside and at first I thought someone had been run over.

‘But when I looked down from my window I could see the baby lying on the floor.

‘It was horrible to see.

‘She is such a lovely and sweet little girl, always so happy and smiling.

Specialist forensic investigators examined the scene after the child was rushed to hospital

Specialist forensic investigators examined the scene after the child was rushed to hospital

‘There were actually two bangs, one of them was her hitting the green metal box and the other was her hitting the street.

‘Had she not hit that box, she would have died, for sure.

‘Her face was huge because it was swollen so much, she had a big black eye and down at the scene we were told she had a broken jaw.

‘She fell right in front of two 13 year old boys – they must be so shaken up.’

Karen Marsh, 54, rushed to the mother’s aid and said she was ‘hysterical’.

Ms Marsh said: ‘She was in total shock, she was hysterical.

‘I told her to gather some clothes for the hospital.

‘That poor woman, it’s truly dreadful. It put me in total shock mode and I just wanted to help out.

‘She kept asking ‘is she going to be OK? Is she going to be OK?”

One neighbour said the girl hit a green metal box on before landing on the pavement

One neighbour said the girl hit a green metal box on before landing on the pavement 

A Hampshire police spokeswoman confirmed that the couple arrested in connection with the two year old girl’s fall had now been released on bail.

She revealed that no further action was being taken in relation to the allegation of them ‘possessing a weapon’ and that enquiries into the accident were continuing.

The spokeswoman said: ‘The girl is currently being treated at Southampton General Hospital where her condition is now described as stable.

‘Our enquiries into the exact circumstances are ongoing at this time.

‘We can confirm that a 29-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, both from Portsmouth, were arrested on suspicion of neglect of a child to cause unnecessary suffering/injury, possession of a weapon for discharge of a noxious liquid/gas/electrical incapacitation device and possession of a Class B drug.

‘They have both been released on police bail while enquiries continue but no further action is being taken in relation to the allegation of possession of a weapon.’

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