A 12-year-old girl has been left with permanent scarring after being thrown from a faulty fairground ride in Birmingham.
On 29 October 2009, Megan Harrison visited the Star City entertainment complex. She went on the Tagada – a circular ride, driven by two rams, which tilts up to three metres in the air and bounces passengers as it lifts and spins them.
There are no restraints on the ride, and Megan fell from her seat to the floor of the structure, as a result of its jolting action. She tried to use a barrier to drag herself up but felt gravitational forces starting to pull her out towards an exit gate. As the ride continued to spin, she fell through an opening in the gate and landed on the ground three metres below. She suffered a 7cm cut along her shin bone, which has still not fully healed. She no longer takes part in any sports where she might bang her leg, and has a fear of fairground rides.
An investigation by the HSE found that a horizontal rail in the barrier gate had been missing for several months and the ride owner, Henry Evans, had failed to identify the danger this posed. HSE inspector Pam Folsom said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident that resulted in a serious injury to a child. This is more than just an afternoon out that was spoiled; a child has suffered lasting effects from what happened.
“Fairground operators must inspect rides for faults every day before allowing people to use them. In this case, the gap in the gate had been there for several months before the incident, so the ride had clearly not been checked properly during this time, for which there simply is no excuse.”
Evans appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 16 February and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.5(1) of PUWER 1998. He was fined £1000 and ordered to pay £2000 towards costs.
Inspector Folsom added: “Free guidance on safe practice at fairgrounds and amusement parks is available from HSE. All operators must follow this carefully to ensure they don’t put members of the public at risk.”
