Parents from a village in Halkidiki, northern Greece, said yesterday that they will sue authorities after two young boys became stuck in a disused ditch which also contained a decomposing calf.

The schoolboys were playing hide-and-seek near a municipal sports center in Stratoni when one of the children fell into the ditch. His classmate tried to pull him out but the ground gave way and he fell in as well.

One of the children’s older brothers realized soon afterward that the boys were missing and helped them to climb out of their muddy surroundings.

Parents said that authorities dug the ditch some two-and-a-half years ago when they were building the sports center. It has since been abandoned. Grass and weeds have obscured it and made it a danger to local children, parents argued.