A fairground owner has landed in a heap of trouble after failing to take notice of warnings by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to fit an additional safety barrier on one of his rides.
The accident happened in July 2011 at Lockstall Hall Carnival near Preston, when a 12-year-old girl was thrown several metres to the ground from the end seat of the High Roller as it swung through the air.
The girl suffered five fractures to her pelvis, a lacerated bladder, a cracked bone in her spine, a broken finger and bruising to her lungs.
At a hearing at Leyland Magistrates Court, fairground owner Gary Gore pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of passengers on the ride.
The court heard how the HSE had issued a nationwide alert after an incident on the same type of ride in Halifax, West Yorkshire, in summer 2010 where a disabled teenager fell from an end seat. Afterwards, operators were banned from allowing passengers in the end seats of similar rides until safety bars had been fitted.
Mr Gore was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay £12,000 in costs.
HSE inspector Mike Lisle said, "The 12-year-old girl may well be affected by her injuries for the rest of her life because Mr Gore did not act on the safety alert issued by the HSE. He was given a copy of the warning in person by a HSE inspector nearly a year before the incident, but the young girl was still allowed to sit in the end seat of the ride."
"Mr Gore had failed to fit new safety bars to the ride, despite having over a year in which he could have arranged for this to be done. As a result, passengers were likely to have been put at risk for several months. Safety alerts are issued for a reason and there’s no excuse for them not to be followed. This prosecution should act as a warning to business owners of the potential consequences of ignoring them."
