MUM SUES BEAR
£150k claim over telly star’s 5km survival race
A SUPER-FIT mum who took part in a Bear Grylls survival race is suing for £150,000 over serious injuries.
Former gymnast Margot Harrison, 58, was left with a shattered shin bone and a dislocated shoulder after falling from monkey rings during a 5km obstacle course.
It was designed by TV star Mr Grylls to help participants “release the inner Bear” and develop their “wilderness warrior spirit”.
Ms Harrison is suing Intuitive
Business Consultants Ltd – trading as “Bear Grylls Survival Race”.
She is also claiming damages from Big Bang Promotions International Ltd, which provided supervising staff and planned risk assessments for the races. But
London’s High Court heard both companies’ lawyers deny fault and dispute the amount of compensation, insisting they took stringent steps to ensure a safe course.
Ms Harrison’s barrister Brian Cummins argued there had been two previous injuries on the monkey rings at other venues. He claimed, as a novice, Ms Harrison, of west London, should not have been allowed to tackle the 2016 event in Enfield, north London.
Big Bang’s QC, Angus Withington said: “Whilst unfortunate, it is simply the result of the inherent risk associated with this type of adventurous activity.”
The judge reserved his judgment on the case until a later date.
MASTERMINDING a cocaine empire as head of the Medellín Cartel, the Colombian crime boss built up a £24billion fortune and was linked to kidnappings, murder and bombings.
He lavished much of his illgotten gains on his 5,500 acre Hacienda Napoles estate which, as well as six swimming pools, featured a private zoo with hippos, a bullfighting ring, race track, airport and a gate topped with a plane. Since he was shot dead by police aged 44 in 1993, the ranch has been turned into a theme park.
Other homes once owned by the world’s richest ever criminal include a 6,500sq ft pink mansion in Miami and a hideaway on the coast of Tulum, Mexico, which has been turned into a luxury boutique hotel.
Even when he initially surrendered to the Colombian authorities in 1991 Escobar lived in a self-designed luxury prison nicknamed “The Cathedral”. The stately pile included a gym, billiards room, bar, disco, sauna, jacuzzi, a waterfall and even a life-size dollhouse for his daughter to play in.