AN eight-year-old girl has lost the tips of two fingers after they were caught in "fortress-style" metal security gates at her under-siege school.

Victoria Bradburn was playing outside Haverley Hey primary in Benchill, Wythenshawe, at lunch time when her hand became trapped in the heavy steel gates.

Surgeons tried to sew back the severed tips of the index and ring fingers on her left hand, but they did not heal, leaving Victoria disfigured for life.

Education chiefs have launched an urgent investigation into the accident at the school, which installed the gates to protect against a long-running spate of burglaries earlier this year.

Fortress

The Manchester Evening News reported earlier this month how the 350-pupil school had effectively been turned into a fortress, with external walls reinforced and £900-a-week security guards on patrol to keep out the intruders.

Victoria's dad Terry Bradburn, 37, and mum Donna, 39, say they are devastated by their daughter's accident.

Her fingertips were severed when another pupil opened the metal gates while her hand was stuck inside.

Doctors sewed the fingertips back but had to remove them again in a second operation after they did not heal.

Mr Bradburn, a truck driver from Wythenshawe, said: "This happened at dinnertime. The gates should have been locked so children could not open them."

Victoria, who has a twin sister Emma, had a 100 per cent record of attendance at the school, but now has to stay at home while her hand heals.

Mr Bradburn added: "The school needs to take action to stop something like this from ever happening again.

"It's hard to imagine the pain that Victoria must have gone through.

Wedding finger

"This is very upsetting for us all and I feel very sorry for her.

"It's going to be upsetting when Victoria grows up and comes to get married, because one of the fingers that was damaged was her wedding ring finger.

"There are other children at the school and I don't want this to happen to one of them."

He said the school had now "locked" the gates using a rope.

A spokesman for Manchester city council said: "The city council is aware that an incident took place at Haverley Hey primary school.

"We take matters of this nature very seriously and are currently investigating."

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