A mum is nervously waiting to hear if her son’s vision is permanently damaged after he was smacked on the head by a “dangerous” playground gate.

Four-year-old Finley was left with a seriously swollen eye following the incident at the Herne Bay Coastal Park in Central Parade on Monday morning.

The boy was excitedly following his older sister, Evie, into the seafront play area when the gate swung back and struck him.

Immediately after the incident, significant swelling appeared and dark bruises began to form.

Amie Pritchard, Finley’s mother, said: “His eye is so swollen at the moment, he literally can’t open it. He’s in a lot of pain.

“He went to walk through the gate but it literally just swung back and smacked him in the face, just above the top of his eyebrow, and the swelling came up straight away.

“I’ve never been as petrified in all my life; it’s just a constant worry.

“I haven’t eaten in days; I’ve been stressed to the hilt. It’s affected his sister as well, she’s a very sensitive little soul.”

Finley was seen by a specialist at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford on Tuesday but due to the severe level of inflammation they were unable to examine his eye.

This means the mother-of-two, from Herne Bay, will have to wait until their next appointment today (Friday) to learn the extent of her little boy’s injuries.

Since the incident, Miss Pritchard, 30, has been contacted by several other parents whose children have been hurt by the same gate.

In 2020 a three-year-old narrowly avoided stitches after being cracked on the head by the entrance to the Canterbury City Council-run playground.

Miss Pricthard is urging the council to remove and replace the gate.

The mum-of-two said: “I think it should be removed and a safer latch gate installed. Finley’s quite stocky for his age so if it had been a child with a smaller build, who knows what would have happened.

“I just hope that we can warn other children and that we can get Canterbury City Council to realise that something needs to be done about it.”

Following the previous incident the council examined the gates and found that they were functioning properly and chose not to make any alterations.

Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies said: “We were concerned to hear that Mrs Pritchard's son suffered an injury and hope he makes a swift recovery.

"Play area gates are deliberately designed to close fairly quickly and be difficult for children to open, in order to prevent them getting out.

“We would always recommend that gates like this are opened by adults.

"Preventing children from exiting a play area is particularly important at locations like this, on the busy promenade with a main road on one side of the play area and the sea on the other.

"Play areas are inspected regularly because safety is our number one priority.

“However, following this recent incident, we will check the gate again to ensure it is working at the correct closure speed and time of between four and five seconds from 90 degrees."