A FOUR year old girl who was injured by the Gruffalo statue at Queenswood Country Park is too scared to return, her grandmother has said.

McKenna Rose Davies, 4, was at the beauty spot with her mum, dad, and 10 week old brother Bobby when the accident took place on August 11.

The ear from the popular Gruffalo statue fell off and hit McKenna on the head, creating a one and half inch gash, her grandmother said.

The shocked youngster was initially looked over by a first aid team at the park, but when the severity of the wound was apparent, she was taken to accident and emergency where her head wound was glued together.

McKenna's grandmother, Maxine Davies, 44, described how her son-in-law said the accident happened in 'slow motion' and how he heard a 'thud' as the ear impacted McKenna's head.

The family had spent the afternoon at the park and were on their way back to the car.

Describing the effect the accident has made on her grandaughter, Ms Davies explained: "She is OK but she is not herself. We are struggling to get her to eat anything. All she does is lie on the sofa and she is normally up in your face and on the trampoline."

The four year old, who starts primary school next month, has been advised not to do any strenuous activity for seven to ten days to help her wound heal.

She has not been able to go to swimming and ballet which has been upsetting for her, Ms Davies said.

Ms Davies said the family want the park to take responsibility for the accident and offer an apology.

A spokeswoman from Queenswood Country Park said: "The staff and volunteers at Queenswood are very sorry that someone was recently hurt at the site.

"The Gruffalo trail has been hugely popular with families, bringing pleasure to many children that have visited us since it was installed. We inspect the sculptures weekly to ensure they are in good condition.

"When the accident was reported to us on site, we were informed that a child had been climbing on the sculpture and had broken the ear, causing it to fall on another child below.

"The sculptures are not play equipment and we do not invite anyone to climb on them. We ask that any visiting families supervise their children and recognise that as an outdoor site there are inherent risks with allowing climbing of sculptures as there are with trees or walls.

"We wish the child who was injured a very speedy recovery."