A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy is lucky to be alive, after being struck on the head by a cricket ball.

Little Harry Butt was left with severe concussion, a swollen nose and eye, plus sight and hearing problems after the ball flew over the fence from a match being played on the Poole Grammar School field into Haslar Road, where he and his family were visiting friends.

Now Harry's mum Michelle, and the residents of Haslar Road, are demanding something should be done, before someone else is seriously injured, or worse.

Michelle, who lives in Chalbury Close, Canford Heath, had taken Harry and her 12-year-old twin girls to visit friends before heading off on a bank holiday weekend camping trip to Weymouth.

They were on the driveway saying goodbye when the ball whistled past Michelle's ear and struck Harry.

She said: "It sounded like a bomb had gone off - my little boy was on the floor. We were all in shock - he was dazed. We took him to A&E and we were admitted to hospital. He was violently sick, had really bad concussion and the consultant said if it had hit him anywhere else, he wouldn't be here - it hit him on the forehead, on the side."

Harry, who goes to Ad Astra Infant School, was discharged on Friday morning, with Michelle under strict instructions to keep a close eye on him for the next fortnight and to return to hospital if she was worried. She has already been back once as the little boy now has two black eyes, cannot breathe through his nose as it is so swollen, and is now having trouble hearing.

She added: "We are on day five and he's not himself, he's crying every night. My sister has got brain damage and Harry might still suffer from bad headaches. I'm still in shock - I still hear the noise. It's just awful and I want something done."

Poole Grammar School called Michelle on Friday afternoon and told her they could not raise the height of the fence due to health and safety, as the site was too windy. But she said they told her they would move future cricket matches to an alternative field.

But Michelle said residents of Haslar Road had been complaining for years about cricket balls coming over the fence and hitting their cars, conservatories and ending up on their roofs, and said action should have been taken before a child was hurt.

She added: "I just feel really upset that they've been told about the balls going over and nothing has been done. I know that you can have netting around the pitches. It's also about the safety of the students at the school - obviously it's not big enough to play a game of cricket, because the balls keep coming over the fence.

"I just think the way it's been dealt with is not professional and it should have been done before."

Councillor Ray Tindle, who represents Canford Heath West, said he and fellow ward councillor, Sean Gabriel, would be looking to work with both local residents and the school to find a solution and prevent such an incident taking place again.

He added: "The school has got to face up to the fact that this is an issue and something has to be done."