Fairground bosses are fined £29,000 after an eight-year-old girl had her EAR ripped off when a ride flipped over as the driver rounded a corner at more than twice the speed limit 

  • Girl was riding in a boat-style carriage towed by a quad bike when it overturned 
  • The driver took a bend at 11 mph, twice the speed limit of 5 mph 
  • Girl, aged eight, described her head being pulled along and her ear ripping off
  • Firm which ran the fair in Spinney Hill Park, Leicester has been fined £29,000 

By Rebecca Taylor For Mailonline

Published: 12:18 EST, 26 January 2017 | Updated: 12:22 EST, 26 January 2017

A fairground company has been fined after an eight-year-old girl had her ear ripped off when a ride flipped over after the driver took a corner too quickly.

The girl was in a boat-style carriage being towed by a 700cc Yamaha quadbike when the driver negotiated a bend at 11mph - twice the legal 5mph limit for the ride.

The side-car style carriage the girl was sitting overturned and she was dragged along the ground ripping skin from her chin and cheek.

The firm which ran the ride, Heat of England Promotions Limited, admitted breaching health and safety regulations and was fined £29,000.  

The chain of boat-style carriages which overturned. The girl was sitting in the last carriage when the driver took a corner too quickly

They were also ordered to pay £11,000 costs at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday.

Judge Philip Head said: 'The defendant accepts there was a series of mistakes, but it wasn't a corner cutting, profit maximising willful breach.

'No sums of money imposed by this court can equate to the impact upon this little girl.'

Judge Philip said a combination of overloading, turning and speed caused the last three quad boats to topple over, and that 'a safe system' should have been in place.

The disaster happened during a family fun day at Spinney Hill Park, Leicester, on August 14, 2014.

The girl was in the last of a row of six carriages when it overturned.

In a victim impact statement, she said: 'It went downhill and my quad boat and two boats in front of me were still turning and they tipped over.

'The seat belt kept me in the boat but my head was dragging along the ground.

'It took the skin off my cheek and chin, and it was a little while for the quad bike to stop moving forwards.

The driver was driving at 11mph when he should have been doing 5mph. The boss of the ride's firm offered 'sincere apologies'

'It took my right ear off completely, with a clean cut.'

The court heard it took three operations to rebuild the girl's right ear, which could not be re-attached as everything apart from the lobe was 'ripped off' in the crash.

The girl was also off school for over a year, was unable to play sport and had suffered nightmares.

The maximum load should have been 600kg, but with 12 children it was in excess of 1,000kg, the court heard.

The route was across undulating terrain and at the point where the flip happened there was a 270-degree turn around a fountain.

Other children escaped with minor minor cuts and grazes.

The court heard the company were advised by health and safety officials about the risks of overturning in 2011.

But the judge said that although they asked for a report from a safety consultant it had not adequately addressed the problem.

About 1,000 children had already been on the ride in the first four days of the six-day city council event, which was held at weekly intervals during the school holidays.

Dominic Kay, defending, said managing director Stephen Hammon attended every court hearing and was a 'hands on' boss.

He said Mr Hammon offered 'sincere and genuine apologies' on behalf of the company to the young victim.

Mr Kay added: 'Mistakes were made, but it's not a case of corner cutting for profit.

'They did take [safety] steps, but they didn't go far enough.'

Mr Kay said the quad boats have not been used since and manufacture has stopped, with previous customers being advised of safety precautions.

He said that any future use of the boats would only involve a 'low speed towing tractor'.

Civil proceedings relating to compensation for the victim are dealt with separately to the crown court proceedings.

Health and safety inspector Neil Ward said after the hearing: 'They didn't take the precautions they should have done.

'The driver wasn't adequately trained.'

Mr Ward said he 'sincerely hoped' lessons had been learned. 

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