The operation of inflatables in the UK is under threat following two, high profile deaths.
Prime Minister Theresa May was urged to bring in a temporary ban during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons yesterday.
Conservative MP Robert Haflon urged the PM to take action after two “horrific tragedies” and that a temporary ban should be put in place on bouncy castles and inflatables in public areas “until we know that they can be safe.”
The grandmother of a seven-year-old girl, killed when a bouncy castle blew free from its moorings in 2016 in Haflon’s Harlow constituency, had contacted the MP and asked for his help in highlighting the safety issues. Last week then saw further incident when a three-year-old girl died from a head injury when she was thrown from an inflatable trampoline that exploded in Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
May said that, if necessary, “recommendations to improve safety” would be brought in as soon as possible, depending on the results of the investigation by Norfolk Police and the Health and Safety Executive, which are currently taking place.
One council - Havant Borough - has already banned the use of inflatables in any events taking place on its land.
In a court case held last June following the 2016 incident, a pair of fairground workers were found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and were jailed for three years each.
