TWO children have suffered serious injuries after a broken metal gate at their housing estate collapsed and trapped them on separate incidents. And one of the mothers is considering legal action because she believes the accident has caused her son sev

TWO children have suffered serious injuries after a broken metal gate at their housing estate collapsed and trapped them on separate incidents.

And one of the mothers is considering legal action because she believes the accident has caused her son severe speech problems.

Jack Stoter, four, was walking home with his mother, Tracey, in January when the metal railings outside Philip Mole House in Chippenham Road, Maida Vale, collapsed on top of him.

"The gate fell and trapped him underneath," Ms Stoter, 38, said.

"I ran over and tried to lift it and I realised it was really heavy. It was a struggle to lift it. He started screaming and his mouth was bleeding."

The mother of four immediately called an ambulance and Jack was rushed to hospital, remaining for several hours while doctors monitored him but it was a few days later that she realised something more serious was wrong.

"After that he started to have problems with his speech," she said.

"He started dribbling and you couldn't understand a lot of what he said.

"If he grows up with his problem, it's not going to be very nice."

Ms Stoter took Jack to a speech therapist who monitored him for six weeks but referred her to a neurologist, who informed her that the nerves in Jack's mouth may be dead.

Jack has now undergone an ECG and MRI scan to determine the root of the problem.

And a similar accident occurred to 11-year-old neighbour, Yangdzom Doran, in February.

Her mother, acupuncturist, Gabriella, said: "She was taking the rubbish out to the bins and the gate fell on her and caused a big hash in her thigh. It was about five inches big and was very painful.

"She's still got a mark from it now."

Both mothers claim they complained to the housing association but nothing was done.

When informed of the incident, Octavia, the housing association which manages Philip Mole House, thanked The Times for bringing it to their attention.

A spokeswoman said that they received two reports that repairs were needed in January and July and that on the same day, they had been "made safe".

"We are obviously very concerned to hear that one of our tenants may have been injured," she said.

"We are now in the process of getting both gates repaired, which is expected to occur by the end of this week."

But Ms Stoter is not satisfied with the repairs

"The railings have been broken for months," she said.

"It hasn't been fixed - all they've done is tied with a piece of string which is all rotting anyway. They need to be replaced or welded back on.

"I'm so worried it will fall on someone again and could cause another serious injury.