Nottingham's Goose Fair: Ride operator breached health and safety rules causing handrail to fall on woman's head
Article Published On 11/28/2014 1:44:00 PM
Published By Nottingham Post | View The Full News Article
THE owners of a rusting Goose Fair ride could be fined up to £20,000 after a handrail fell off - hitting a woman and knocking her unconscious.Sandra Olsewska was waiting for friends beside the Top Buzz 2 ride on Saturday October 6, 2012, when the handrail fell onto her head.Magistrates were told that the most of the bolts on the ride had been rusting and a number of the joints holding it together were broken. The woman was rushed to the Queen's Medical Centre by paramedics to be treated for cuts and bruising to her eye and head.Alex Crow Leisure Ltd was found guilty of breaching the regulations of the 2008 Health and Safety Offences Act at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Friday November 28.The firm - which didn't turn up to the hearing - will be issued with a fine, which could be as high as £20,000, at its sentencing on December 16.Miss Olszewska was not present but her statement was read to the court by prosecutor Alan Hughes, working on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive. It said: "I was waiting for my friends at around 7pm and 8pm. We found a free spot by a carousel and I was watching people having fun."I remember the entrance to Top Buzz 2 was on the left and I remember the yellow gates which were above my head."I stood there for only a couple of minutes and I felt something fall on my head."Miss Olszewska was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre as a result of her injuries, after being carried out of Goose Fair on a stretcher by paramedics."My eyes were watering for some time because of the swelling," her statement continued.Further statements were read from her friend Michael Musialski and interpreter Magdalena Johnson, all of which were given on February 25 2013.Operators are obliged to check their rides for safety issues daily, and the following inspection by the Health and Safety Executive found that 28 of the 32 joints on the ride - which connected the hand rail to the walkway - showed signs of "extensive corrosion".Of the 32 joints, 22 also showed signs of cracking and broken parts. Only one of the bolts on the hand rail was found to be in place on an initial inspection by Goose Fair organisers Nottingham City Council, which confiscated the fallen rail after the incident.Magistrates also heard a statement from Dr Dominic Swan, a specialist mechanical inspector for the HSE."The joints between the handrail and the walk ways were in poor condition," it said. "The erosion allowed the hand rail to detach and fall on the injured person."It is inherently unsafe and there is a risk of the riders being hit by the hand rail. I believe Mr Crow may have had knowledge of the failing mechanism because four of the joints had been replaced before the incident."Lead magistrate Mr Charter said: "It is clear from the evidence that we have heard that the hand rail was eroded and parts were missing."The ride Top Buzz 2 was not maintained in an efficient state or working order and not in good repair."As a consequence, an accident occurred. We believe that this accident was preventable and it was a consequence of the failing of the company."Prosecutors also asked the magistrates to consider imposing court costs of around £2,500 on the company.The Post has contacted Mr Alex Crow since the hearing and is yet to receive a response from the firm, which is based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.Mr Hughes, prosecuting, told magistrates that Mr Crow had responded to emails suggesting a lack of interest in the case because he was not personally implicated."The actual chap, who in essence is the company, is not being prosecuted," said Mr Hughes. "He's been in regular contact to say he is not turning up. If he were the defendant I have no doubt we would be talking about warrants."
