Theme park Diggerland fined £75,000 after accident
21/11/2006
May I thank you for the way my accident claim has been handled, after my accident my confidence was very low indeed but the sympathetic handling of my case restored my confidence.
John, Sheffield
The owners of a theme park have been ordered to pay almost £100,000
after a "death-defying disaster" in which 12 people were injured.
Durham
Crown Court heard that the incident happened Diggerlands site at
Langley Park in County Durham in April 2004, due to a catalogue of
failings and a lack of "elementary precautions".
The company was fined £75,000 and has to pay £19,000 costs after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution.
The
17-year-old driver had only passed his test five months earlier and had
not been competently trained to drive the supertrack vehicle, the court
was told.
The injuries of passengers were compounded because
there were inadequate seat restraints and steel used to modify the
vehicle had not been padded.
After the case a HSE spokesman said:
"Unsuspecting parents and children came along that day for fun
adventure and enjoyment. What they got in actuality was a death-defying
disaster."
Sustained injuries
Riggsed Ltd, which owns
Diggerland theme park, said it regretted the incident and had
co-operated with the Health and Safety Executive in improving its
operations.
At the time of the incident the all-terrain
articulated vehicle was taking 18 passengers on a tour of the site when
it slipped down a bank, landing on its side in the water.
12 passengers sustained injuries and were taken to hospital after the vehicle landed in the River Browney.
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