A pigeon spike that fell from the roof of a McDonalds was "inches away" from hitting a baby, the little boy's dad has said.
Danny Cooper, 26, was waiting outside the golden arches near his home in Wallasey with his nine-month-old son, Bob, while his partner went inside. The dad said he suddenly felt something hit his back and realised it was a pigeon spike which he claims had fallen from the roof of the fast-food restaurant, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Speaking to the ECHO, Danny said: "I thought I would sit outside while he was asleep, so I stayed and had a little vape while I was sat outside and waiting. Next minute, all of the sudden something hit me on the back.
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"It was a pigeon spike to keep pigeons off the roof. It was inches away from Bob, which is what made me more worried. I am just thankful it was me rather than Bob."
Danny claims he and his partner have been left "mentally drained" as they keep thinking about the "worst case" scenario of what could have happened to their baby. He added: "Every time I go out now I have to make sure nothing falls on Bob or myself, it is mentally draining me.
"Luckily he was in the pram asleep with the hood over but I was leaning a bit forward so I think that is why it jarred my back. But if I was sat normally it would have properly hit me on the head."
Danny claims he was left in pain after the incident and worried about his work: "It scratched my back and made a few marks on my back, it didn't hurt but as the day went on my back started to really hurt. I think I might have trapped a nerve."
He added: "I still have to go to work and I obviously can't do my work properly because I do heavy lifting, mopping floors and I am just in pure agony. But I still have to go to work because of my little one and can't take time off."
The 26-year-old said he and his partner were also unhappy with the way McDonald's handled the matter. He said they were told the issue is the landlord's responsibility, but added the fast-food chain has a "duty of care" and wanted to warn other people.
Danny said: "It happened between 11 and 12, the seating area got taken down at 2pm which I think is personally disgraceful because I think it should have been taken down straight away and looked into.
"Then yesterday [Sunday, August 28] we drove past, we only live two minutes down the road, and the seating area was is back outside and we looked today [Monday, August 29] and they have done nothing about it, it is still a state and there is still spikes hanging off to be honest.
"I just don't want it to happen to someone else, it could be a new born child next. They should have a duty of care."
After it happened, Danny claims staff asked whether they wanted the accident to be reported, but believes that "shouldn't even be a question." He added: "The first assistant came down and said 'I am glad it was you guys because you're nice people and you're not shouting' and I was obviously not going to shout or scream because I had Bobby with me.
"Then she said 'would you like it to go in the accident book?' which shouldn't even be a question, they didn't even ask me if I was OK. They offered me a free meal but I didn't want a free meal."
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about this customer's experience and investigations into exactly what happened are ongoing. Our restaurant team responded quickly, providing aid and support to the family involved whilst recording details of the accident.
"We have since contacted our landlord to request the area is secured and all necessary repairs are undertaken to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. We would encourage the customer to contact our Customer Services team so we can keep them updated as work progresses.”
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