A five-year-old boy was left bruised after tripping over a broken stair - which still has not been fixed nearly a month on.

Little Harvey Dolby was walking up the communal stairs in Exeter House, Stratfield Road, with his mum Jade and two-year-old brother who was in a buggy back in November when he fell.

He began to cry and could not lift himself up, so Ms Dolby began to panic.

As she was halfway up the stairs with her other son’s puschair, she had to quickly dash up and then run back down to carry Harvey up.

She later noticed a piece of lino had come apart and was left livid it had been allowed to be get to such a dangerous situation.

Despite reporting the incident to Affinity Sutton on numerous occasions, nothing has been done.

Harvey's knee

Borehamwood Times:

She said: “Suddenly Harvey just fell forward smashing his knee against the steps.

“He’d managed to catch his foot in the gap where the lino had come away.

“All you need is someone to rush down the stairs and fall and smash their head.

“It’s a joke.”

Ms Dolby put an ice pack over Harvey’s knees and he has not been left with any lasting injuries, but she fears it could have been a lot worse.

“I don’t know what would have happened if it had been me with the buggy that tripped up,” she added.

She contacted Affinity Sutton, who manage the building, straight away on November 13.

She claims she was told it was being treated as an “emergency” and would be dealt with within two days.

However, despite contacting Affinity Sutton on a number of occasions, they say it can’t be sorted until December 11.

The broken lino, below

Borehamwood Times:

As a result, the lino is still left exposed and continues to be a hazard.

The problem was made even worse when the lights in the building went out for around four days, only coming back on December 4.

“It was completely pitch black and when you know there is the stair you can trip on, it made me feel so scared,” Ms Dolby said.

A spokesperson for Clarion Housing Group said: "We’re sorry to hear that Ms Dolby’s son was injured as a result of treads coming away on the communal stairway and apologise for the delay in completing this repair.

"However, an operative did initially attend on 14 November to complete a temporary fix and we will be attending the property again on Friday 8 December to complete the repair."