A YOUNG girl suffered a serious hand injury after climbing a 4m fence around a five-a-side football court.

And paramedics who were called to Croft Leisure Centre on Monday afternoon say they were verbally abused by the girl’s parents as they attempted to treat her.

The artificial pitches at the Marlborough Lane facility are closed under coronavirus lockdown rules.

Ambulance and fire crews were called to the Croft at 4.38pm and the girl was taken to hospital.

Police confirmed no arrests had been made.

A South Western Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We would like to remind the public to respect our staff and volunteers as they respond to patients.

“Sadly our people face violence and aggression every day while trying to protect and save our patients’ lives, which is completely unacceptable.

“Any incident of violence and aggression can have serious consequences on them, their families and colleagues.

“We support whatever action is necessary to protect our staff from harm, and ensure those responsible for any such incidents are reprimanded.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We were called to assist the fire service on Monday at an incident at the field next to Croft Primary School, Swindon, just before 6pm.

“Officers spoke to all parties at the scene; no offence had been committed and the young girl was taken to hospital for medical treatment.”

Staff were not on site as the sports centre remains closed until this weekend.

A spokeswoman for Better, which runs the facility, said: “Following reports on social media regarding an alleged incident at Croft Leisure Centre yesterday, we have examined the site. 

“There are no signs of trespass or that the site has been accessed in any way. 

“We have not been advised of any incident by Swindon Police or the other emergency services in the past 24 hours and our CC TV footage does not show anything out of the ordinary. 

“Because the leisure centre is currently closed due to the coronavirus lockdown, no staff members were onsite at the time the incident is supposed to have taken place.”

Details of the incident have been shared on an Old Town community noticeboard page but the eyewitness did not wish to comment when approached by the Adver.