Torfaen: Two-year-old on life-support after fountain fall

Grace was playing at the Fishponds park in Griffithstown on Tuesday

A two-year-old girl is on a life support system after being submerged in a fountain in a park.

Grace's mother Hannah Lear, from Torfaen, said her daughter was in a "stable" condition at a specialist unit in Leicester.

"She's a very poorly little girl," she added. "Her doctors have told us she's the sickest child here, so I think that puts it into perspective."

She said she and her husband Sam are "taking it hour by hour".

"[Grace] is fighting so hard at the moment, she is stable," Mrs Lear said.

She took Grace and her older brother to play at the Fishponds Park in Griffithstown, Torfaen, on Tuesday afternoon.

A passer-by found Grace in the fountain unconscious

At about 16:30 BST, Mr Lear arrived with Grace's younger brother.

Hannah said: "In the split few seconds our attention had been turned, Grace had disappeared. She hadn't even been missing a minute before we looked up to find her gone.

"Our group ran in every direction of the park, calling her name and asking anyone we passed but to no avail."

Grace disappeared when her parents were momentarily distracted

She added: "I was just going back to the lawn we had been on and a gentleman shouted to call an ambulance. He pulled Grace out of the fountain."

Grace was unconscious and not breathing.

She was given CPR by passers-by, who kept her alive until the emergency services arrived.

"Sam and I will forever be grateful for those who helped save her," said Mrs Lear.

"A thank you isn't enough. We've been in contact with those who helped and we've every intention of meeting them with Grace in the future when she's well."

Grace, pictured here with her father and siblings, is in a specialist unit in Leicester

Grace was taken to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, before being taken to the specialist unit in Leicester where she had a heart and lung bypass.

"She's definitely fighting at the moment, she's showing us the strong-willed nature she has at home," she added.

Mrs Lear said she just wanted to get Grace back as her "cheeky little self".

A passer-by pulled Grace from this fountain in Fishponds Park, Griffithstown

It is still not clear how long Grace will be on the life support system.

"Tough isn't even the word, but we're keeping ourselves together because Grace needs us to be strong," she said.

The family said they have been overwhelmed by the support they had received from the community, including an online fund-raising page.