IT WAS supposed to be a fun afternoon with his friends.

But horror struck when 12-year-old Reece Geisler fell off a bouncing see-saw, fracturing his skull and causing a blood clot in his brain.

The Lindley footballer – who plays for the Collegians Under 12 team – had been at a presentation for his club last Sunday and later he was one of six who went to the nearby Fern Lea playground.

Reece and another friend climbed aboard the modern see-saw – installed when Kirklees Council upgraded the playground in February, 2009 – and laughed as they bounced and spun around.

But minutes into the ride, Reece lost his grip and fell off, missing the rubber matting and hitting his head on the concrete edging of the play area.

His friends dashed for help and he was taken by ambulance to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where a CT scan showed he had fractured his skull and had a bleed on his brain. He had also fractured his right eye socket.

He was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary for major brain surgery, lasting three-and-a-half hours and resulting in 30 stitches.

His distraught parents George and Debbie Geisler, of Gatesgarth Crescent, faced an anxious wait.

Debbie said: “We were so shocked, you just never think something like this is going to happen.

“That blue-light journey to Leeds was the longest 20-minutes of my life. We were so anxious waiting for him to come out of theatre too.

“We are just glad he is now on the road to recovery.”

Neurosurgeons had to pin Reece’s skull – which was fractured in several places – back together and insert metal plates, which he will now have for the rest of his life.

He has also suffered double vision and is undergoing further tests to assess the extent of damage to his eyes.

The Crossley Heath Grammar School pupil – who has three sisters – was discharged from hospital on Tuesday night and is now recovering at home.

He said: “I can’t remember a lot of it. It’s strange knowing I had a bleed on my brain. It could have been fatal or I could have had brain damage.

“I don’t want people my age to suffer the pain I have been through.”

Now, his parents are calling on Kirklees Council – which manages the playground – to remove the seesaw until an investigation has been carried out.

His father George said: “I’m sure it has been risk assessed but there is something quite wrong.

“The contraption has no safety features to it and where it is positioned is too near to the concrete edge of the play area.

“I would like to see it taken out of operation until they have sorted it out.”

Mr Geisler has already met with council officials at the site to discuss his concerns.

A Kirklees Council spokesman said:

“We are very concerned to hear about the injuries to Reece Geisler and hope that he makes a full recovery.

“Following a visit to the site yesterday, no defects were found with this piece of play equipment or the safety surfacing and the overall condition of the site was satisfactory.

“This playground was designed by Kirklees Landscape Architects and installed approximately 18 months ago. It conforms in every respect with the current national standards as do our other play areas. All council play areas, including this site, are inspected regularly.”