A 1-year-old baby was left unconscious and stopped breathing after a wooden gate toppled on to him at a rural property.
Ashton Middleton was playing with four cousins on a verandah under the care of their grandmother, Lucy Watson, at his uncle's Kahutara home, when one of the children climbed on an unhinged gate. The gate crashed on to the baby, leaving him blacked out, Ms Watson said.
"One of my grandchildren was on the other side [of the gate] and stood on the gate and the gate came down and fell on his chest," she said.
Ashton's parents, Michael and Nina Middleton, from Palmerston North, were in the region for a break during the school holidays. They were at Ngawi fishing at the time but the baby's uncle, Stephen Middleton, had come home for lunch.
Ms Watson said Ashton "blacked out" and stopped breathing briefly, but came round while his uncle was holding and talking to him. She said she panicked and tried to call the emergency services, but Mr Middleton was calm and took control of the situation over the phone. By the time the helicopter arrived, Ashton had come round and was asking for food.
