A baby hit by a lamppost that toppled over in Chiswick, west London on Tuesday (23/02/10) is fighting for his life in hospital.

ITN News reports that the one-year-old boy was taken to the Royal London Hospital in east London by air ambulance following the accident.

A 62-year-old woman who is not related to the baby was also injured and was taken to the Charing Cross Hospital in west London with back injuries, where she was described as being in a stable condition.

A nanny who was pushing the baby in his buggy when the lamppost collapsed was not injured.

Police who attended the scene of the incident said that the baby’s injuries were ‘life threatening’. The child and the woman injured were both treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital.

The incident occurred at around 10.30am outside Chiswick Town Hall and the circumstances are currently being investigated by police and the Health and Safety Executive.

A spokeswoman for the London Borough of Hounslow, where the incident occurred, said:

‘Following a report regarding a fallen lamp column in Sutton Court Road, council engineers are currently on site and liaising with the police.

‘This is an awful tragedy and our heartfelt sympathies go out to the injured and all their families. The council is co-operating fully with the police and Health and Safety Executive investigations.’

Witnesses to the accident said that the force of the falling lamppost ‘smashed’ the baby’s buggy in two pieces. The woman injured in the incident was knocked unconscious.

Bystander Thomas Daniell, 28, told The Daily Telegraph:

‘I'm really shocked and it was obviously quite upsetting for a lot of people who saw what happened.

‘It's a busy pedestrian area – there were people standing around with tears in their eyes.

‘The injured woman was in full view of the public. I didn't see the baby, but the pram was smashed in half by the sheer force of the impact. The lady was knocked out instantly.’

An unnamed local mother who did not wish to be identified said that repairs to the public highway were taking place at the time of the incident.

‘I arrived 30 seconds after it had fallen down – the lamppost fell on top of the baby,’ she told reporters.

‘The little boy was being pushed by his childminder. It was horrific – it's an area where they are redoing the pavement.

The local council said that works were being carried out in the area as part of the Turnham Green traffic and transport improvement scheme, which aims to speed up passenger travel in the area. Pavements opposite the scene of the incident are also being improved as part of the scheme.

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