Child burned at church nativity in London in critical condition in hospital
A child who was seriously burned during a nativity event at a church in south London is in a critical but stable condition.
The London Ambulance Service and police went to the church and the young boy, who is understood to be between the ages of seven and 10, was taken to hospital by air ambulance.
A police spokesman said the boy was still critical but in a stable condition in hospital on Thursday morning.
Three people including the boy were injured during the incident at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church on Bingham Road in Croydon on Wednesday.
A man and a woman were also taken to hospital by road.
The boy was attending a carol service with pupils at St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School, which is less than a mile away from the church.
Headteacher Noel Campbell said the whole school community is "devastated by the incident that occurred at our carol service yesterday".
He added: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the child and his family at this difficult time. Following this incident our pupils, staff and families are being given support."
The Metropolitan Police said they were called by the ambulance service at 2.21pm to the church.
A police spokesman said: "A young boy was reported to have received serious burns during a Christmas event.
A spokesman from the London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 2.10pm today to reports of an incident on Bingham Road, Croydon.
"We dispatched two ambulance crews, an emergency responder, a medic in a car and an incident response officer to the scene. We also dispatched a trauma team from London's Air Ambulance.
"We treated three people at the scene for burns including a child, a man and a woman.
"We took the child to hospital by air. We also took the man and the woman to hospital by road."
The Catholic church is part of the Archdiocese of Southwark.
The Archdiocese said in a statement: "The Archdiocese of Southwark was informed of an incident that occurred at Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church in Addiscombe, which led to a child suffering serious burns and two adults also sustaining injuries.
"At this time our thoughts and prayers are with the child and those injured, their families, and the school and parish community. The Archdiocese and school involved are co-operating fully with the ongoing investigation."
The London Fire Brigade and the Health Safety Executive (HSE) were also informed after the incident and an investigation will begin.
An HSE spokesman said: "HSE has been informed by the emergency services, who have led the initial response. We will liaise with the local authority to establish which agency is best placed to take this forward."
