A CHILD has had to be treated in hospital after sustaining a facial injury in an incident that occurred close to the site of the former Unipork factory site in Enniskillen.

Details of the incident were outlined in a message posted on the Hillview and Kilmacormick II Community Association’s Facebook page.

It is understood that the child was hit with a broken tile close to the eye and had to be taken to hospital to get stitches.

Describing the incident as “serious”, the Community Association stated that it had taken place in an area between the Hillview and Kilmacormick II estates known to local residents as ‘Joey’s Park’, which is adjacent to the former Unipork factory site.

The message stated: “There is also an ongoing issue with materials being dumped on the old Unipork site which are spilling out onto the estate.

“Glass, tiles, and metals in children’s hands are very dangerous and we now have a situation where a child has been hurt.”

The Community Association has appealed for parents in both estates to make sure that their children are staying away from the area, unless supervised.

“Enough is enough now,” one resident posted up in reply to the message.

Speaking to the Impartial Reporter this week, Brendan Farry, of the Hillview and Kilmacormick II Community Association, said that the incident highlighted the dangers associated with the ongoing flytipping problem that has blighted the two estates in recent years.

“Some eejit has come up and disposed of his waste somewhere where he shouldn’t have. Where this fly-tipping is happening, it’s becoming a safety issue as well as a health issue,” Mr. Farry said.

The Community Association spokesperson claimed that fly-tipping was being “ignored” by the authorities and also urged residents to be more proactive in reporting it to the local Council when they see it happening.

Sinn Fein councillor, Debbie Coyle, confirmed that she had received complaints from residents in the area since the incident.

The Enniskillen councillor said she was intending to raise the issue at a meeting of the Fermanagh and Omagh Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP), due to be held in Omagh last Wednesday night.

She said: “That’s the sort of thing that Community Wardens could be looking out for. I want to see if they are aware of it and what they plan to do about it. Perhaps they could have more of a presence in the area?”

The councillor said that, from talking to local residents, she understood that a lot of the dumping was being done by people coming from outside the area, rather than from the two estates.

Her party colleague, councillor Barry Doherty, said he had been trying to get the former Unipork site cleaned up for “quite some time”.

Mr. Doherty said he had first visited the site four or five years ago with fellow Sinn Fein councillor Tommy Maguire, when they observed the fly-tipping “problem” first hand.

The Erne West councillor said they had tried to get the site tidied up on three or four occasions in recent years, without success.

Last month, Mr. Doherty advised fellow Fermanagh and Omagh District Council members of a vermin issue at the former Unipork site.

“Generally the way it is being kept is creating big problems,” he said.

“I have been shown a video and there are very serious vermin problems there.

“I would like to make a proposal that we liaise with the current owners of that site as this is becoming a very serious situation,” he said at the local authority’s monthly meeting in May.

All members were in agreement.