AN investigation has been launched after an 11-year-old girl suffered potentially life-threatening injuries at an outdoor activity centre.

The incident at Fairthorne Manor, Botley, happened on the Burma Bridge – a rope activity over a lake where participants move from one side of the river to the other by means of ropes and cables.

The Daily Echo understands the girl was walking along the Burma Bridge when the equipment got caught up around her neck.

It is thought the girl was rescued and cut down, falling into the water below.

She was flown to Southampton General Hospital by air ambulance.

It is believed the girl had been at the YMCA centre in Curdridge as part of an endof- year school party for Sherborne House School, in Chandler’s Ford , which had been organised by parents.

She is understood to have made a full recovery.

The incident is under investigation by Winchester City Council, while the activity has been suspended pending the outcome.

A spokesman said: “Winchester City Council is aware of an incident involving an 11-year-old female who sustained injuries while attending an activity day at Fairthorne Manor.

“Inspectors from the Health Protection team have visited the site and are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

South Central Ambulance Service said it had attended at about 3.30pm to treat a young female for “potentially lifethreatening injuries”.

A rapid response vehicle, the air ambulance, an ambulance crew, ambulance doctor and members of the hazardous area response team were all called to the scene.

Chris Hand, chief executive of YMCA Fairthorne Group, said: “I can confirm that we recently had an incident on our Burma Bridge activity.

“The YMCA takes all incidents of this nature extremely seriously and the Burma Bridge and Aerial Runway activities have been closed while an investigation is carried out by the Health and Safety Executive.

“Our initial internal findings indicate that the incident was not as a result of our staff or equipment failure, although this cannot be confirmed until the Health and Safety Executive has completed their investigation. We will share any findings with other activity providers.”

He added that the safety system used on the Burma Bridge and the Aerial Runway is widely used in the adventurous activities industry but is not used on any other YMCA activities, which remain open as usual.

“The YMCA continues to cooperate fully with the Health and Safety Executive investigators to discover the cause of the incident,” he said.

Fairthorne Manor was not willing to disclose the exact circumstances of how the girl was injured.