A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl who tripped in a gap between paving slabs has been left with wrist injuries that could lead to permanent problems.

Olivia-Rose Mansell fell on the pavement outside Orchid View at Stanmer Heights in Hollingbury, Brighton, in the dark on Monday evening.

She was left screaming with bones sticking out of her wrist.

She was taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, where she had an operation on Tuesday.

She may have to have a second operation and her mother, Emma Mansell, has been told by doctors that damage to a growth plate caused by the fall could cause disturbance in her arm, which could affect her everyday life.

Emma contacted her local councillor, Lee Wares, about the gap in the paving slabs and told him of her concerns about poor lighting in the area.

Two days after her daughter’s fall, she watched as the gap was repaired by contractors for Brighton and Hove City Council, which said it had not been aware of concerns about uneven paving there.

“Hearing Olivia-Rose scream in pain was awful,” said Emma, 51, who lives in Stanmer Heights. “I just froze. She broke bones on either side of her wrist and the bones were sticking out. I can’t sleep because Olivia-Rose isn’t sleeping properly and I’m worried about her. Her arm is in a cast and she is in quite a lot of pain.”

Olivia-Rose, who has been off school, told The Argus: “My hand’s very swollen and it’s painful. It really hurt when it happened – it was the worst thing in the world. The operation was scary.”

Emma had left Olivia-Rose outside Orchid View to wait with other families for a community bus to take them to Brighthelm Church, a community centre in Brighton, and had walked to the other end of Stanmer Heights when she heard her daughter fall.

She rushed back to her screaming daughter and after calling an ambulance, rang her mother to take them to hospital.

“She was on gas and air at the hospital and she had to stay there for two nights,” said Emma, who is also the mother of Harrison, 11, Harmony-Rose, aged two, and one-year-old Ruby-Rose.

“She had an operation the next day, when they manipulated the bones back into place and reattached the growth plates.

“We’ve got to return for an X-ray and possibly for another operation. The hospital said that because her growth plate was shattered it will cause growth disturbance in her arm. It will affect her everyday life.”

Councillor Wares, who represents Patcham, said: “I met with Emma and her daughter and I wrote to the council saying

that there had been a nasty accident and could they repair the paving.

“I’ve also asked the council to check the whole estate because a lot of children play outside.”

A council spokesman said: “We were very sorry to hear of this incident and we wish Olivia a speedy recovery.

“We had not previously been made aware of any concerns regarding uneven paving in the Orchid View area.

“As soon as we were made aware of these concerns, we arranged for our contractor to visit the site.

“They found a gap in part of the paving and immediately repaired it.”