Hull Fair: Woman flung from ride 'lucky to be alive'

Jade Harrison said she had to have metal plates fitted in her head following the fall

A woman who was catapulted from a fairground ride has said she is "lucky to be alive" and wants the attraction to be "scrapped".

Jade Harrison, 21, suffered a broken jaw and facial injuries when she fell from the Airmaxx 360 ride at Hull Fair on 7 October.

She said she was angry after being "flown through the air like a ragdoll" yet fortunate she was not paralysed.

A teenage boy was also hurt as she hit him when she fell.

Ms Harrison said she had to have metal plates fitted in her head and was "unable to smile". She also lost a tooth and "struggles to walk" because of extensive bruising to her legs and chest.

Ms Harrison said she was thrown "like a ragdoll" from the Airmaxx 360 ride at Hull Fair

Recalling the ordeal, she described how she was "pushed forwards and into the barrier".

"It started to bounce and that's when I remember it tilting - I was worried about coming out but that's the last thing I remember thinking," she said.

She added: "I thought it was a dream, I gave it a minute and then realised it wasn't a dream and that's when I started to panic and people were telling me not to move.

"I thought I'd lost all of my teeth, my mouth felt like it had been scrambled as it was full of blood."

She said she has not wanted to be pictured since the accident

Ms Harrison said she was "angry that the safety systems simply didn't do their jobs" at the fair, which is held in the city for eight days.

"I feel lucky to be alive, or to have come away from this without a brain or spinal injury which would have left me paralysed for life, so I do feel lucky in a way," she said.

She added: "I think the ride should be scrapped, and if that happens then at least I've achieved something."

Hull City Council and the Showman's Guild previously said they were fully cooperating with an investigation led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

"Safety is our number one priority and we are keen to learn all lessons from any incident however rarely it may occur," a Guild spokesman said.