Theme park in court after 8-year-old is injured
Twin Lakes Park, near Melton Mowbray, has been prosecuted after an eight-year-old boy broke his leg on one of the rides.
What happened?
The child from Derby was on a spinning barrel ride with his parents when his shoelace became tangled in a bolt, twisting and trapping his left foot.
As a result he had to have his leg straightened, leaving him in a heavy cast from his thigh to his toes.
He was bedridden for eight weeks, and during the months that it took for his leg to heal he required 24 hour care.
An investigation into the incident found that the bolt was protruding from the base of the column which holds the central disc that riders turn to make the barrel spin.
BB & B Leisure Parks Ltd, which owns the theme park, had attempted to cover up the bolt head by wrapping self-adhesive tape around the pole, but this was often worn down by rubbing against people’s shoes as they used the ride.
Though staff did carry out daily checks on the condition of the tape, it could wear through very quickly as it was too soft and flexible.
What was the outcome?
BB & B Leisure Parks Ltd was fined £13,500 and ordered to pay costs of £30,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Speaking about the incident, HSE inspector Neil Ward, said:
“BB & B Leisure Parks should have tackled this risk far more
robustly than they did. Fairgrounds and their individual
rides contain a lot of machinery and therefore
potentially significant risks.
“There can be no scope for anything less than 100 per cent safety,
particularly when so many people and children will
in constant and close contact with the rides.
“The company should have found a better solution – which it did after
the incident. It had some smooth plastic collars made which fit
over the bolts so that there isn’t an entanglement risk, and
that are sufficiently robust that they won’t
wear through quickly.
“It was a simple, low-cost measure that could have prevented a
painful injury to a young boy enjoying his birthday.”
If you have been affected by an accident at a theme park, and you would like expert advice, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6888 or email
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