A schoolboywas left with a bloody head wound after a metal bar fell off a 20ft-high fairground attraction.

The bar clipped Ben Blake, nine, on the side of his head as it fell on to the Splash Mountain fun palace at Beach Green, Lancing.

Initial reports said the boy had fallen but shocked parents Les and Sarah Blake, who witnessed the impact, confirmed their son had been struck from above.

The couple were horrified as Ben stumbled towards them, holding the cut, on Monday night.

After two brain scans and six stitches to the wound at Worthing Hospital, Ben was allowed to go home. His parents are planning legal action for compensation.

Mr Blake, of Kings Road, Lancing, said Ben returned to school on Wednesday.

He said: "It could have killed him. He got on the ride and there were two young girls in front of him.

"He went on a moving conveyor belt and thought it was fun to run back across it.

"We heard a bang and an almighty scream. He came off and walked to us, bleeding."

Mr Blake said the bar was about 4ft long and came from an ornament stand on the attraction's roof.

He said: "Ben was obviously crying but he was not hysterical.

"We calmed him and he started to get a bit of shock and was shaking."

Police confirmed that Sussex Ambulance called them to the scene and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was notified.

Splash Mountain was allowed to remain in operation on Tuesday night after closing briefly following the accident.

The operators of Splash Mountain declined to comment.

A spokesman for the HSE said: "On the morning of May 18, a member of the national fairground inspection team attended the scene.

"The incident is being investigated and the family is being kept up to date with what is happening."