A DIY chain has launched an investigation into claims a seven-year-old girl needed 17 stitches in her leg following an incident at one of their Norfolk stores.
The family of Jaicee Lake claim she was with her father Paul Chappell at the Wickes store in Thetford when a sharp piece of metal sliced open her leg.
An ambulance was called to the incident in June 2017 and Jaicee was taken to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. The next day she was administered anaesthetic and a plastic surgeon gave her 17 stitches.
Now, the Costessey family claim the company has broken promises on offers of compensation.
The girl's mother, Trina Lake, said the store's manager had promised to give her daughter a teddy bear and a get-well card after the incident, but never did.
She said: 'She's completely scarred. When driving past Wickes, she puts her hands over her eyes and says, 'I can't look, I can't look'.'
A Wickes spokesperson said: 'We are currently looking at this incident and the subsequent correspondence. At the same time, our team is seeking to liaise directly with the family to discuss and resolve as soon as is possible.'
The incident happened when Mr Chappell, a plasterer, was buying work materials, including metal beading, which he placed on a flat trolley.
Beading, used for plastering corners, is a thin piece of metal with a straight edge running along its length.
When Mr Chappell went to pick something up from a shelf, Jaicee got behind the trolley, pushed it around a corner and a metal bead sliced into her leg. The edge of the beading is 'dangerously sharp,' Ms Lake said.
Ms Lake said a few weeks passed without any update. She said she called to the store again and the manager promised to visit their home and give Jaicee a teddy bear and a card, but never did.
'Jaicee was really disappointed,' Ms Lake added.
The next time she called to the store, the manager was no longer working there.
In May, she called in at the Norwich branch and was told she would hear from them. Ms Lake said that she went on holidays and after returning had still not heard anything. 'The manager took my number but again I've heard nothing,' she said.
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