A parent has been left fuming at a school for allowing children to use a brand new set of monkey bars, despite two kids falling and breaking bones within 20 minutes.

Seven-year-old Frankie Finch broke his forearm in two places when he slipped and fell off the metal bars at a newly installed play area at Hook Lane Primary School in Faraday Road.

The accident happened just 20 minutes after a female classmate, whose guardian did not want her to be named, came off the exact same piece of play equipment and broke her hand.

The two seven-year-olds ended up in beds next to each other at Woolwich's Queen Elizabeth Hospital following the lunchtime incidents on September 9.

Frankie’s granddad Peter Finch, 56, is annoyed the school's only "added safety measure" has been to increase the equipment's lower age limit from seven to eight.

He said: "They say they are going to put the age up to eight years but what happens when an eight-year-old girl falls off and breaks her neck?

"Will that make a difference?"

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Hook Lane Primary School say the monkey bars will no longer be used by seven-year-olds.

Meanwhile, the youngster's 30-year-old mum, Sarah Finch, of Victoria Street, Belvedere, added: "I’m upset because after it happened to the little girl they didn’t close if off and stop the children going on it, which could have prevented what happened to my son.

"His hands were slipping and he tried to jump and caught his arm on a bit of metal as he fell down.

"It just concerns me because you leave your children in their care and something like this happens."

Frankie has had to have an operation to insert a metal plate into his arm and will be off school for two weeks. He will also have to wait three to six months for another operation to have the plate removed.

A spokesman for Hook Lane said: "The monkey bar equipment, which is recommended for children aged seven and above, was installed during the summer holidays on a new play area which has a deep, spongy safety surface.

"The equipment and the surface meet all the manufacturer’s guidelines.

"The equipment has an up to date risk assessment and is safety-checked each morning. No faults or defects have been found in it.

"The children are closely supervised, with restricted numbers using it, at all times.

"We wish the children a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming them back to school very soon."