BBC documentary exposes the dark side of the UK’s fairgrounds
According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request put to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there were 3,188 injuries in England, Scotland, and Wales at funfairs, amusement parks, and theme parks between April 2014 and March 2024, 350 of which were in 2023/24 alone.
Jade’s story uncovers horrifying history of funfair machine
The Panorama documentary, which aired on Monday, 16th of June, featured Jade’s story, whose life was turned upside down after boarding a ride at Hull Fair in 2019.
Jade got on the Airmaxx 360 ride, but just seconds later, she began to slip out of her seat. The victim reports hearing a clicking noise in her safety restraint before being thrown from the ride and hitting another nearby ride.
Jade told Panorama: “I could barely walk, I broke my jaw completely in half. I had damage to mainly the back teeth on both sides. I had internal bruising, severe damage to both thighs, and then just bruising all over my body, like black, purple bruises.”
The ride’s owners admitted liability for Jade’s accident on the AirMaxx 360, and she received compensation. However, when the accident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Jade was in for further shock. HSE confirmed that eight-year-old Adelene Leong had died after being thrown from the same ride in Australia in 2014.
The AirMaxx 360 was never used again in Australia after Adelene’s death, but three years later, in 2017, it had been sold to a UK owner. The report of Adelene’s death stated that the safety of the machine was poor, particularly the locking mechanism of the restraints. Jade’s accident report eerily echoed, “The mechanical design of primary and secondary locks that are intended to prevent movement of the restraint was found to be inadequate”.
Inconsistent regulation of inspectors raises questions
Panorama has expressed some serious concerns with the industry. The funfair rides undergo major inspections when they are first manufactured and at least once a year afterwards; however, the regulation of the inspectors is now in question. Criminal convictions and safety warnings linked to one inspector in particular have been uncovered. Not so coincidentally, the exact company that carried out the design review on the Airmaxx 360, DMG Technical, owned by David Geary.
Panorama has discovered that David Geary and his company, DMG Technical, have a history of inspecting rides that are later involved in funfair accidents. Mr Geary received a criminal conviction and a fine for failing to identify risks after a five-year-old’s ankle was crushed by a rollercoaster in 2017. In May 2024, a woman was thrown from a ride and spent weeks in a coma, and Geary received a suspended prison sentence for a design review failure that had contributed. Panorama discovered that the HSE has also formally warned Mr Geary or his company about a further eight safety breaches over the past 10 years. The HSE does have the power to ban inspectors, but they rarely do, and it did not take such action against Mr Geary.
Personal injury expert weighs in on funfair dangers
Susanne McGraw, Head of Personal Injury at Watermans shared,
“Fun fairs and amusement parks are supposed to be that… FUN! People love going far and being scared, as they think it is being done in a controlled and safe environment. To think that it may not be is terrifying, and even more so when the injuries that can be sustained in the event of something going wrong can be catastrophic.
Susanne continued
“The HSE needs to look into this urgently and use its powers to stop shying away from dealing with people who are putting the public in danger. They must work with the Legislators to produce legislation that truly protects the public and ensures that inspectors are doing their jobs properly.”