my apologies, lozzyhickers. I was not aware of the statement saying it was to reduce distress.  my mistake.

No problem Delta 

MattsDesigns wrote:

It was the netting on the sides I think - it was open.

Actually I believe it was the raised walkway further around the courtyard- nothing to do with the 'bridges.'

coastermaster wrote:

im not being mean or anything but to be honest there was supposed to be a panel missing wouldn't some body of noticed when the rides get checked in the mornings

Exactly. I find it hard to believe that it would get to 1pm without anybody (staff or otherwise) noticing such an obvious hazard, unless of course a guest created the hazard at some point in the day. Another possibility is that the girl was climbing or had been lifted up to look over?

It still irritates me that people (not on here) seem to just assume that a 'fall' insinuates that the fence or entire structure collapsed spectacularly and that the place is a death-trap.

Too many people are pointing the finger in different directions, but unless they were there at the time, I wish they would keep quiet and let the investigation come to an end when we will find out the truth. It is disappointing that so many people are missing out on the ride, but I understand keeping the ride closed until the investigation is finished is the right thing to do.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/ ... _fall.aspx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... tures.html

Conflicting heights here...

http://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20 ... g-accident


However some positive news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18613998 - Making improvements
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18723840 - Out of coma
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18689257 - Charity concert

Its good that the little girl is alive. But why is there a charity concert going on when her treatment will be covered on the NHS? Plus the possiblity of conpenation costs awarded to them? I think her parents are being gready.

Unless you have direct access to the family you can't possibly say that - maybe it is the case, but maybe they are trying to cover the costs of hotel stays for parents, travel to and from the best hospital they can get into, there must be all sorts of costs involved in this, not to mention if they have stopped working temporarily to look after their daughter, which is entirly understandable under the circumstances.

Plus, compo, if it happens, which I have no doubt over, will take time to go through as there will be discussions and insurance companies and lawyers all in there, and thats only when the H&S people finish off.

Perhabs, if you are right and this is a gennuine fund raiser then fair enough and will go to cover these costs then I have no problems with the event going ahead. I was a bit too judgemental in my other post, but I don't think it's unreasonable to question where the money that is raised will go.

Dose anyone on here know

How far the hosipital is from where her parents live? and; Is the treatment on the NHS or through a private/chairty hosipital?

If these questions can be answered then we might have more understanding of her parents intentions.

Just come back from Chesington with Tomb blaster closed for all four days.

New fencing going up around the ride...

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/k3nmT5yY9l5sBxSBwVJe1tcJiVOowk4FlUXWasyvngA?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NOoCXNmURxwLhdmPlR7Z5tcJiVOowk4FlUXWasyvngA?feat=directlink

hmmm... not sure if that fencing style works for the theme. I'd of used scaffolding netting myself, with the original fence left as it was, and the netting on the inside of it, floor to ceiling. At least it's the right colour though.

Boz wrote:

hmmm... not sure if that fencing style works for the theme. I'd of used scaffolding netting myself, with the original fence left as it was, and the netting on the inside of it, floor to ceiling. At least it's the right colour though.

I problem with netting it can get damaged and cut by thugs. It be in the H&S report what they have to do to the queue line to get it passed off so they can reopen the attraction. 

Tomb Blaster is back in operation today complete with the new queue fencing.

James6 wrote:

Thoughts are with the family, and hope she makes a full recovery.

After looking through the Facebook posts, it seems as if a hole was on one of the bridges, of which the girl fell through.

Would be interesting to know what time it happened, and also how no one, including park guests, noticed it.

actually one of my friends saw it. she came up to me and was "OMG, did you know someone fell off a queue line bridge today and i saw it."

Verdicts in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30780504

£150k fine for the park.
Honestly I'd have hoped Chessington would've been monitoring such little things like the quality of fencing, etc. It's an abysmal mistake to make.

Apparently the fence plank had just dropped, and staff were already on their way to fix it. Yes, the fence could have been maintained better, but it was one fence plank, easily missed.

The girl's parents should really have stopped her from running too far ahead and too far to the side tbh.

I'm sympathetic for the girl and her family, I really am, but I think 150K is far too much.

Dan.B wrote:

Apparently the fence plank had just dropped, and staff were already on their way to fix it. Yes, the fence could have been maintained better, but it was one fence plank, easily missed.

The girl's parents should really have stopped her from running too far ahead and too far to the side tbh.

I'm sympathetic for the girl and her family, I really am, but I think 150K is far too much.

At the prices people pay to visit parks like Chessington, you expect to not be in any danger. Particularly at Chessington which is primarily aimed for children, you can't take any chances with H&S.

They should have noticed that that section of queueline was rotting, and taken appropriate preventative measures to minimise the risk of any incident occurring. This is something they failed to do and that young girl ended up with quite serious injuries because of it.

How can you say that the girls parents should have stopped her running ahead? They would have expected her to be safe anywhere in the park so you can't pin any blame on them.

The responsibility for the accident lays solely with Chessington/Merlin as they failed in ensuring all publicly accessible areas of the theme park were properly maintained.

Dan.B wrote:

Apparently the fence plank had just dropped, and staff were already on their way to fix it. Yes, the fence could have been maintained better, but it was one fence plank, easily missed.

The girl's parents should really have stopped her from running too far ahead and too far to the side tbh.

I'm sympathetic for the girl and her family, I really am, but I think 150K is far too much.

It's not enough for an obviously poorly maintained fence. If it's weak enough to just drop off (or even be kicked off - it should withstand it) then it's not been looked after enough.
Plus, 150K is literally nothing to Merlin, it's like pocket money.

Dan.B wrote:

Apparently the fence plank had just dropped, and staff were already on their way to fix it. Yes, the fence could have been maintained better, but it was one fence plank, easily missed.

The girl's parents should really have stopped her from running too far ahead and too far to the side tbh.

I'm sympathetic for the girl and her family, I really am, but I think 150K is far too much.

That isn't what the H&S found though, it didn't just 'apparently drop [sic].' It quite literally failed in its function due to a series of poor maintenance and lack of general care. The park has a legal and moral responsibility to protect all staff and guests and they fell catastrophically short of this.

I've been at the recieving end of Merlins lack of H&S consideration and genuinely believe a fine of £150k is far below the threshold they should be charged. I hope they settled fairly with the girl and her family and continue to offer support until it is no longer required.

Lee wrote:

I've been at the recieving end of Merlins lack of H&S consideration and genuinely believe a fine of £150k is far below the threshold they should be charged.

Out of interest, what happened to you then & at which park/attraction?

To me Alton Towers, Thorpe park and other merlin attractions I've visited recently seem better managed in respects to H&S than Chessington as of late. It'd be very interesting if it was one of the others, as that'd have the potential to show a more systematic failure of H&S across the entire company, rather than just within one attraction.

It's because Chessington is under-loved