THE son of a man who helped save a girl who fell off a cliff is worried that the accident will repeat itself more than 20 years later due to the poor condition of a fence.

William Farrell noticed that the fence which runs along Hall i’th’ Wood Lane, a cobbled road near the museum, was damaged over the weekend.

The drop on the other side of the fence is more than 30 feet in height, making him concerned that young children could fall off the edge.

He was walking down the lane with his six and nine-year-old children, one of whom has learning difficulties, which means that she has no sense of fear.

He said: “If I let my daughter just walk off, just from the footpath, she would have gone straight off into the ravine.”

Mr Farrell’s father, and namesake, was the custodian of Hall i’th’ Wood Museum when a schoolgirl from the area fell into the Eagley Brook leaving her in intensive care.

The Bolton Evening News reported that Turton High School pupil Stacey Wiggans, aged 12, of Tithe Barn Crescent was playing with a friend near the museum when she fell into the brook 22 years ago.

Mr Farrell, who lived in a bungalow next to the museum at the time, said that his late father was one of the people who helped the rescue effort.

The 36-year-old who now lives in Great Lever said that the fence needs to be fixed immediately and went further by saying that the fence needs to be made of stronger material.

He said: “It should be metal. These are just wooden slacks. They are not effective at all. I don’t want any child to go down there and fall off that cliff face. It’s a sheer drop of 80 to 100 feet.”

The Bolton News understands that the lane is not on the museum’s site and therefore not owned by the council. Given that the land is privately owned, it is the owner’s responsibility to repair the fence and not the council. However, the landowner is currently unknown.

Mr Farrell said that he wants to make people aware of the dangers of the broken fence to prevent any children from falling in the brook. He said: “I feel like I would be doing my dad proud.”