NEW CRACKDOWN ON INFLATABLES SAFETY

Vow as toll of victims soars

SAFETY inspectors are clamping down on bouncy castles and other inflatables after a series of injuries and deaths.

The Government crackdown comes as figures show hundreds of people are hurt on fairground attractions each year.

Department for Work and Pensions Minister Sarah Newton has told Parliament the National Fairground Inspection Team will focus on increased safety this year.

Official statistics show that 446 members of the public were hurt in 2015-16 – along with 54 workers. In 2016-17, 430 visitors and 56 workers suffered injury. And last year the figures were 369 and 61 respectively.

The worrying toll included three-yearold Ava-May Littleboy, who died after she was thrown 20ft in the air when an inflatable trampoline exploded at Gorleston Beach, Norfolk. In March 2016, seven-year-old Summer Grant, from Norwich, died after becoming trapped in a bouncy castle (above) that blew hundreds of yards across a fair in Harlow, Essex. Two fairground workers were jailed for negligence after failing to secure the castle properly.

Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said: “The figures are a wake-up call. The Government should look at safety and rather than setting up a task force actually fix the problem.

“It is vital we strike a balance, but people go to fairgrounds for fun and a family night out.

“They shouldn’t have to worry that at the end they are having to take a trip A&E.”

DEADLY Bouncy castle blew away

TRAGIC Summer died