A BOY who fell 12 ft through a skylight after climbing onto a school roof to retrieve a football was told by doctors: "You're lucky to be alive!"

Thomas Knowles, aged 12, landed on his back inside St James' Primary School, Hillside Avenue, Farnworth, before smashing his way out of the locked school using a fire extinguisher to break a window.

And his angry mum, Theresa, has warned he might not be the last child to hurt himself unless better security measures are installed at the school.

Mrs Knowles said: "Thomas can't walk at the moment -- he is in too much pain.

"But this could have happened to any child. They are constantly going up on that roof to get their footballs back.

"There should be better methods of stopping children getting on, particularly as the summer holidays aren't far away. I also want to know where the caretaker was?"

Thomas was left alone and trapped in the primary school after his friends ran off, ignoring his pleas for help.

He managed to pick himself up and had to use the fire extinguisher to break open a window to escape from the school.

Two other friends then saw him staggering away and helped him back to the family home in Ramsey Avenue.

His mum then took him to Royal Bolton Hospital where he had three stitches for a glass wound to his back and was treated for other cuts and bruises.

She added: "The doctors told him the last person they saw who had fallen through a skylight had died. They said he was very lucky to be alive."

Thomas, who is a pupil at Harper Green School, Farnworth, had been playing football with friends when the ball became lodged on the roof. He climbed up after it but fell through a skylight and landed on the hard floor.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "The school is protected in a number of ways with anti-climb systems including anti-climb paint. The buildings are surrounded by a substantial fence which runs around the school between 10 and 50 yards away from the school buildings.

"The council's health and safety unit and the Health and Safety Executive have started inquiries.

"The police are also investigating the incident. The school was locked up about 6pm and we understand the incident was about two hours later."