Trampoline park bosses handed punishment after 11 people broke backs in two months
Two trampoline park bosses have pleaded guilty to offences after 11 people broke their backs in just two months, while hundreds more - many children - were left injured.
Flip Out Chester directors David Shuttleworth, 34, and Matthew Melling, 33, oversaw the Chester franchise during a period where 270 accidents were recorded.
Many were injured at the trampoline park after using the Tower Jump, where visitors would land into the foam pit.
A Flip Out spokesperson told LADbible that the incidents occurred when the park was under different ownership to its current ownership, which is owned and operated by the Flip Out Group, and that it 'puts the safety of our customers at the heart of what we do, and it is our number one priority'.
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The worst injury suffered was a damaged vertebrae, while some visitors endured life-long health problems.
A total of 123 guests suffered ‘knee to face’ injuries, which caused major dental and facial injuries.
As a result, Shuttleworth, of Stoke-on-Trent, and Melling, of Spinningfields, Manchester, both pleaded guilty at a hearing in Chester Crown Court to a single count of negligence under health and safety law between December 2016 and February 2017.
Judge Michael Leeming said he was passing sentence on the basis the two defendants were negligent rather than committing deliberate acts or cost cutting at the expense of safety and he was constrained by the sentencing guidelines and the law.
He said: “There’s no evidence the company took any steps at all, including reasonably practical ones to reduce or eliminate those risks.
"Common sense says investigating why an accident has happened reduces the risk of further accidents.
“The sentence will be less than many people hoped for and many people think you deserve.”
Shuttleworth was fined £6,500 and Melling £6,300, with each ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid community service.
Shuttleworth was also ordered to pay £50,000 costs. Melling had to pay £10,000 in costs.
In total, 270 members of the public suffered injuries from 2016 to 2017, mainly using the Tower Jump, as 11 suffering spinal injuries and four required surgery, along with various other injuries, including broken ribs and sprained wrists.
A spokesperson explained that the tower jump was removed immediately after the incidents and has never been at any other parks.
Councillor Christine Warner of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “The statistics in this case are truly shocking.
“These directors were both aware that members of the public were being injured but their approach to investigating why that was happening, and therefore ensuring public safety, was negligent.
“The council is the regulator of facilities like Flip Out and has a responsibility to protect the public.
“The conviction and sentence of these two individuals sends a message to all those running popular recreation facilities of any sort.”
A spokesperson for Flip Out told LADbible: "Flip Out Chester is now part of the Flip Out indoor adventure park operator, which is the fastest-growing family entertainment centres group globally with 34 parks in the UK alone.
“Flip Out Chester has lots of different activities today than it did back in 2017. The tower jump was removed immediately after the incidents in 2017 and has never been at any other parks. Flip Out Chester – and all of the other Flip Out Parks across the UK – now feature activities such as a roller rink, slides, trampolines, interactive football, Laser Quest and e-karting.
“All Flip Out indoor adventure parks have robust personnel structures that involve a general manager at park level, overarching area manager and all overseen by a national operations manager and our head of compliance with additional advice/support from a leading health and safety advisor within the sector.
“Flip Out, and all the parks' activities, have highly stringent health and safety procedures and policies. We also have a robust reporting process and investigate any incident – however minor – as soon as it has happened. This helps us to identify any trends or potential areas of concern.
“We have detailed advice and guidance on how to use our parks safely, including videos, and it is highly important that customers make themselves familiar with this advice in advance of visiting. We are constantly reviewing our procedures, ensuring the equipment is as safe as possible, and updating our safety advice to customers, safety is of the utmost importance to us as an organisation."
Anish Vij