A three-year-old boy ended up in hospital after disappearing down a manhole while chasing his football.
Jake O'Neill had to be rescued by his dad after falling five feet when an "insecure" and "bent" manhole cover gave way underneath him as he ran across it.
Father-of-three Ryan, who with wife Lyndsey had taken Jake and his two sisters to a holiday park for the weekend, has issued an urgent warning to others "to avoid it happening again to anyone else".
He said Jake, who has recently been diagnosed with autism, was waking up all night screaming after the terrifying experience.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, he said: "The manhole cover wasn't on properly and it was bent. Someone said it looked like a van or lawnmower had gone over it and dislodged it.
"The girls said Jake has gone across it and its moved and he's fell in. It wasn't on properly and wasn't secured down. He's gone to chase his football and went across it and as he's ran, its moved and he's fell in."
Ryan, 30, continued: "We were getting the bags out the car and all the sudden the girls were screaming and I turned around as the girls were screaming and shouted 'where is your brother?' They pointed at this manhole and I ran over and went on the floor and the baby is stuck in this manhole. I lifted him out and gave him cuddle.
"He's been looked over and they just said keep an eye on him in case he gets worse or come back because he could have head a bump to the head. But he's covered in bruises and grazes.
"I don't know how it wasn't any worse because the hole is quite deep. About 5ft because I am 6ft and I was lying down on the grass and I had to push myself into the hole to reach down for him because it was quite deep."
Ryan said the family had come away for the break to process Jake's diagnosis but his daughters have been left traumatised by the incident, which had "ruined things" for them and they "wanted to go home".
He claims there were no warning signs near the manhole and has raised his concerns with the holiday park's manager and security.
