Man arrested as 10-year-old boy left in critical state after taking 100ft plunge from cliff
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND: A 52-year-old man has been arrested after a 10-year-old boy fell from a 100ft tall cliff while on holiday in Brighton on Saturday, September 24.
The child was enjoying the sight when he fell from the Ovingdean cliffs around 5 pm on Saturday. He was airlifted to St George's Hospital in London, where he is still in critical condition. Sussex police claimed that the Oxfordshire man was detained on suspicion of allowing the youngster to come to serious physical harm.
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The man is out on bond until October while deputies have launched an investigation into the incident. During the investigation, the deputies got to know that the boy was not a local and was visiting Brighton with his family. His family is currently receiving support from specially trained officers of the department.
An eyewitness told The Argus, "I saw all the emergency services at the cliff and it looked worrying. I had heard it was a child so I really hope they are ok. It's absolutely awful." Three road ambulances and one air ambulance got the boy to a hospital.
Responding to the incident, a spokesperson for Sussex Police said, “A 52-year-old man from Oxfordshire was arrested on suspicion of allowing a child to come to serious physical harm and has been bailed until October whilst enquiries continue.”
“Police responded to a report of a boy falling from height in Ovingdean, at about 5pm on Saturday September 24. The 10-year-old was found to have suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to St George's hospital in London, where he remains in a critical condition. He is not local to the area and was visiting Brighton and Hove,” the spokesperson added.
"Ovingdean roundabout was closed whilst the boy was brought to safety. The roundabout reopened just before 10pm. We thank the public for their patience during the closure. The boy and his family are receiving support from officers and enquiries are continuing," the spokesperson concluded.
Anyone with information relevant to the incident is urged to report online or call 101, quoting Operation Chaucer.
However, this is not the first time when a youngster has fallen from such a dangerous height. in 2021, a family's fun hiking trip turned into tragedy after their four-year-old boy fell from a cliff. The family was hiking near Princess Arch trail at Red River Gorge in Pine Ridge, Kentucky. The child was struck by multiple ledges and plummeted 70ft.