Boy, 6, 'Falls Off Rollercoaster' At Lightwater Valley Theme Park

A six-year-old boy has fallen off a rollercoaster at Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire.

Emergency services were called to the scene this afternoon and the child was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary.

According to eye-witness accounts, the child had fallen off the Twister ride at the park in North Stainley, at around 11.30am.

The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Simon Moran was visiting the park at the time of the incident and tweeted: "Just saw a kid fall off the Twister rollercoaster at #Lightwatervalley."

Tweeting about the incident, Mr Moran added: "He mustn't have been strapped in right, or too small for ride.

"As it went down the fast bit towards the 'souvenir' camera, he slid out and over top of [the] carriage. Fell face down about 20 to 30 feet to ground."

Another person tweeted: "Not what I expected to see at Lightwater Valley. Child fell from a ride apparently and we'd just been on it an hour before. Hope he's ok."

Photographs from the theme park show emergency crews arriving at the scene and walking across a green towards the rides.

Yorkshire air ambulance confirmed it was at the scene and was 'dealing with an incident'.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman: "The child, a six-year-old boy, who was conscious when officers arrived at the scene, has been taken to hospital. His condition is not believed to be life-threatening.

"The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been notified. Officers remain at the scene."

A Lightwater Valley spokesperson said: "Further to our earlier statement concerning the incident on one of our rides this morning, we can confirm that Health and Safety Executive (HSE) personnel are now on-site and we are assisting them as required.

"We take the health and safety of our visitors very seriously and are committed to providing support to the affected family. We will continue working closely with the HSE and emergency services. The ride concerned will remain closed until a full investigation has taken place. We will provide updates when new information becomes available."

In 2001, university student Gemma Savage died after two cars collided on the same Twister ride.

Five years later the manufacturer Reverchon Industries SA was found to have breached health and safety law.

The firm was found to have failed to ensure safe design and construction of the ride. It also failed to give information necessary to ensure it was safe for public use.

Topics: UK News, Interesting

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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