A HORRIFIED mum claims her two-year-old son could have drowned after a manhole cover collapsed under him.

Jesse Sealey was walking with mum Kirsty, 28, along a path in Furtherwick Road, Canvey, on their way home to Casino Court.

The cover, which showed no outward signs of damage, suddenly gave way when Jesse stepped on it.

Miss Sealey said: “There was no water on it or anything,, it just collapsed.

“There is a nine foot drop down underneath it, but luckily he was able to save himself by putting his arm out.”

His arm caught the edge and prevented him from becoming completely submerged in the water below, although he did swallow some of it.

Jesse also suffered grazes and bruises in the scary ordeal.

Miss Sealey took him to A&E after he started being sick where he was given a tetanus vaccination in case the water was contaminated with sewage.

His shocked mum was able to pull him out before he could lose his grip and sink into the water.

She added: “It was terrifying, really horrible. It really upset him and scared him and me.

“Anyone could have fallen down that shaft if they had stepped on it, or someone could have broken their leg or become seriously injured if it had collapsed on them.”

The nine foot drop would have been the equivalent of falling from the roof of a one storey house.

At the time Jesse fell, the shaft was filled with water.

His mum said: “If he hadn’t have put his arm out, he would have drowned in the water.

“He wouldn’t have come back up if he had fallen down.

“He was very, very lucky. It was disgraceful how it was left.”

Miss Sealey believes the recent flooding which left most of the Canvey underwater over the last couple of weeks eroded away the surface the manhole cover was attached to.

This meant it just collapsed when her son stood on it.

She reported the fault to Anglian Water, which fixed the cover shortly after the incident, which happened on Wednesday, but she says it should never have been able to happen.

“They should be checking the manhole covers regularly,” she said, “especially when it has rained heavily.

“I would never forgive myself if it happened to someone else.

“It is disgraceful that this was able to happen.”

While it is rare for manhole covers to collapse, it can cause serious injury.

Earlier this month, a two-year-old was left with broken foot after plunging 7ft into storm drain in Berkshire.

In 2015, a man, 23, died after being trapped down a shaft after a cover collapsed in North Wales.

An Anglian Water spokesman said: “Our teams attended Futherwick Road following reports of a damaged manhole cover.

“The cover was secured as quickly as possible and we are currently investigating the incident thoroughly.”