Lightwater Valley fined £350k over boy's rollercoaster fall

The boy fell from a carriage on the Twister ride at Lightwater Valley in May 2019

A theme park where a boy fell from a rollercoaster has been fined £350,000 for health and safety breaches.

The seven-year-old was airlifted to hospital with head injuries after falling from the ride at Lightwater Valley in North Yorkshire in May 2019.

York Magistrates' Court heard the ride no longer operated and the park viewed the accident with "great sadness".

The boy fell from the Twister attraction during the spring half-term holiday, the court heard.

Bosses at the theme park, near Ripon, admitted breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

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Judge Adrian Lower was told the boy had not been wearing a seat belt and fell through a gap between the seat and a restraining bar.

But the boy and his mother, who was in the car with him, were not told they had to wear a seat belt, the court heard.

Judge Lower was told the effectiveness of the restraining bar was not enough to hold the youngster in position.

The child was airlifted to hospital after the accident at Lightwater Valley

Prosecutor Craig Hassall said the victim suffered serious head injuries following the fall and was airlifted to hospital in Leeds.

His mother saw him slip under the restraint as he was ejected from the car which was between two and three metres from the ground at the time

Mr Hassall said seatbelt rules were not universally understood by ride operatives and that maintenance of seatbelts was not adequate or in effective working order.

In June 2001, 20-year-old Gemma Savage from South Yorkshire died when two of the rollercoaster's cars collided.