Fine for Lightwater Valley after rollercoaster injury

Lightwater Valley Theme Park in North Yorkshire has been fined £57,000 after a five year-old girl was injured when her leg was trapped in a rollercoaster.

York Crown Court heard that Lucy Hibbert, a New Zealand native, had been visiting the UK with her family when she suffered the injury at the theme park near Ripon in June 2012.

While on the Ladybird ride, her right leg and foot became trapped between the platform edge and the carriage as the ride returned to its starting point, and Lucy’s leg remained trapped as it travelled the length of the platform.

She suffered severe injuries to her foot and leg which included ligament, cartilage and nerve damage.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that David Geary was contracted by Lightwater Valley to carry out an assessment on the Ladybird rollercoaster and failed to properly identify the risk of entrapment between the carriage and the platform.

Lightwater Valley Attractions of Merseyside, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £17,000.

Geary of Taffs Well, Cardiff was found guilty of safety breaches and was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,500.

After the hearing, Lucy’s father, Paul Hibbert, said: “Lucy has undergone extensive physiotherapy to help strengthen and heal her foot after the second round of reconstructive surgeries.

“Her foot is still lumpy and scarred and is a size and a half smaller than her other foot so we need to pack her shoes with tissues so they don’t slip off.”

HSE inspector Kate Dixon said: “The company failed to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to such risks. The possibility of limbs being trapped in this way on the Ladybird ride was foreseeable and should have been dealt with properly by both parties.

“Following the start of the HSE investigation, an Improvement Notice was served on Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd and it made a number of changes to the ride to reduce the risk of entrapment.”

Mark Bainbridge, General Manager, Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd said: “Our first thoughts are with Lucy and the Hibbert family.

 “We have always been and continue to be committed to ensuring the  health, safety and welfare of all our visitors and our employees.

 “We fully complied with all requests made by the Health and Safety Executive and have co-operated throughout.

 “Every year we welcome hundreds of thousands of people to the theme park and can assure all visitors to Lightwater Valley that their safety will always be of paramount importance.”

This comes in the wake of recent high profile accidents at UK theme parks, including at Alton Towers in 2015 when its Smiler ride crashed, resulting in four serious injuries including two leg amputations. Drayton Manor also closed its water rides following the death of a young girl earlier this year.