There was considerable alarm in High Blantyre in Summer 1967 when a freak vehicle accident left a young boy trapped.

Two year old Henry Canavan had been playing in a neighbour’s garden at 10 Afton Street, High Blantyre when a vehicle accident outside his home took place. A moving bread van travelling at speed at the prefabs, lost control and collided with a stationery parked dormobile, parked outside the house. The force of the impact, pushed the dormobile up on to the pavement and sent it through the hedge right into the front garden when Henry was playing.

Henry was trapped below the dormobile, within the wheel arch at the back of the vehicle. The noise of the impact and his screams quickly had the rest of the family outside and rushing to the scene, horrified at what they saw. The rear wheel was moved away and young Henry was promptly rescued. He was then taken away to Hairmyres Hospital to be checked over and seeing there was a head injury, the hospital kept him in for 2 days under observation. During the rescue and due to the position he had been trapped in, all had feared the injuries were of a serious nature, but an X ray showed he had been lukcy and there was nothing to worry about.

Do you know what happened to young Henry?

Photo: Prefabs illustration only. Not Afton Street.