Fairground fatality lessons learned
The death of a fairground maintenance worker could have been avoided by a proper risk assessment, a court has heard.
The case ended in a heavy fine for the fairground operators and has prompted a warning to employers to make sure safe systems of work are in place for all staff.
Pleasureland Ltd, the former operators of Pleasureland in Southport, were fined £95,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 costs at Liverpool Crown Court after pleadingguilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution followed an investigation into the death of 59-year-old William Birchall in August 2004. Mr Birchall was lubricating the Skyride, a chairlift-style cable ride, at the amusement park when he became entangled in the moving machinery. Working 10 metres above the ground, he had attached his harness to one of the ride’s two ‘bull wheels’, which turn the cables carrying passenger cars. His harness pulled his arm inside the machinery and he became trapped. He suffered a heart attack and died at the scene.
The court heard that when Mr Birchall started to get into difficulty and needed the ride to be immediately stopped, he was unable to contact his colleague at the controls 200 metres away because his radio was out of reach.
An inquest in 2006 heard that workers like Mr Birchall were put in a ‘catch 22’ situation, where they either had to clip a harness onto dangerous machinery or risk falling to their deaths.
HSE inspector Charles Cottle said, “This was a terrible tragedy that could have been avoided had the correct procedures been in place. This case graphically illustrates that companies should ensure that safe working systems are in place for the safety of all their employees.”
“Managers should ask themselves three questions – Do you know where maintenance staff go to do their work? What do they do when they get there? Are they safe while they are doing it?” With answers to these questions, companies are able to carry out a suitable assessment of the risk and put in place safe procedures for carrying out maintenance work.
“After the accident a much improved access was provided for the maintenance of the ride, an automatic lubrication system was installed and a fixed telephone provided to improve communications. Had these measures already been in place, they would have vastly reduced the risk of accident,” said Mr Cottle.
The Pleasureland amusement park has subsequently closed. Any fairground now on the former site has no connection with Pleasureland Ltd, or with the parent group Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Holdings) Ltd.
