A YOUNG girl who fell over at nursery has been awarded £6,000 compensation.

Ellie Wolstencroft, four, split open her nose when she tumbled face-first onto boxed-in pipes at Holyrood Nursery, in Swinton.

She was taken to hospital to have stitches and plastic surgeons have said she will be left with a permanent scar between her eyes after the accident in 2006.

Ellie and her parents were told they would receive the pay-out after a hearing at Manchester County Court. But the insurance industry fears it could open the floodgates for similar claims.

Staff at the nursery removed the wooden casing from the pipes and replaced it with a plastic cover with a rounded edge on the day of the accident.

The nursery's insurers originally denied liability, but their solicitors admitted it at court.

Ellie's parents, Michael Wolstencroft, 35, and Joanne South, 38, from Swinton, said they were pleased with the award.

Joanne told the M.E.N: "It was a huge gaping wound. It went right down to the bone. When I saw it I just thought `Oh my God'.

Fantastic

"The staff at the nursery were fantastic when it happened, but the management didn't seem concerned.

"They just said we should contact the insurers, which is what we did.

"We've seen a specialist and they've said that, as she gets older, the scar is going to become more prominent. No cosmetic surgery can make it go away.

"The award is nice. We don't know how she's going to feel about the scar when she gets older - only time will tell."

Ellie was playing at the nursery when the fall happened in March 2006.

An ambulance was called and she was taken to Hope Hospital for treatment and had three stitches.

The youngster, who was one-and-a-half when the accident happened, now goes to school, but still attends the nursery's summer school.

District Judge George Needham said Ellie - who was in court for the hearing - should be paid £6,000 in compensation.

He also ordered defence costs of £5,750.

Judge Needham said: "Hopefully it won't bother her in later life. A sum of £6,000 seems about right to me."

He told Ellie's parents that the money would be invested on her behalf by the Public Trust Office and the final sum would be given to her on her 18th birthday.

He added: "Heaven knows what it will be in 14 years time. In the meantime, I hope she has a very happy childhood."

Fears

But the compensation award has sparked fears within the insurance industry.

A spokeswoman for the British Insurance Brokers Association said: "This does seem somewhat extreme and might reflect the current claims-conscious society that we live in. For businesses, it emphasises the important need to have the right insurance cover in place to provide protection."

Ellie's solicitor Philip Andrews, from Ashfields Solicitors in Cheadle, said: "Joanne was very upset when she recounted to us what had happened. This accident could have been easily avoided.

"It took the nursery no time at all to change the wooden casing on the pipes and swap it with plastic.

"It was inevitable that a toddler was going to fall on it and hurt themselves."

A spokeswoman for Holyrood Nurseries said: "It was unfortunate that a child in our care sustained a minor accident in 2006.

"The correct procedures were followed by informing the relevant authorities and we are pleased to continue providing high-quality care for this child and have maintained a strong relationship with the family concerned."

Holyrood Nurseries are now part of the Bertram Nursery Group.

Graeme Scott, the group's chief executive, said: "We pride ourselves in providing quality childcare at all times and are consistently monitoring our individual nurseries to ensure a safe and secure environment."

Katrina Phillips, chief executive of the Child Accident Prevention Trust, said: "Clearly this was a nasty accident, but we are unable to comment on specific cases and we are not qualified to make a judgement about the level of compensation received in this instance.

"However, what the incident highlights is how easily accidents can happen and how they can result in long lasting consequences for the child and their family."