A theme park in Staffordshire is reportedly facing a fine of up to £2.5m over safety failings in relation to an 11-year-old girl's death on a ride.
Evha Jannath was on the Splash Canyon rapids ride at Drayton Manor theme park during a school trip in 2017 when she was "propelled" into the water, the Cannock Magistrates’ Court heard. The prosecuting, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) complained of a "constellation" of failures in the Leicester girl’s untimely demise. Drayton Manor Park Ltd, had breached Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, relating to failure to ensure the safety of park guests.
Prosecutor Ben Mills informed the court, “During the course of the journey, she fell into the water. The boat struck a wooden deflector panel which jolted her into the water. She wasn’t seen by a member of staff, but by a member of the public who raised the alarm. Her friends also sought to raise the alarm. It’s evident from CCTV that she was able to wade around the course for some distance. She is on camera for a little under a minute.
“The accident was caused by a constellation of different failures. Inadequate signage, inadequate instruction to people on the ride, inadequate training of staff manning the ride, inadequate monitoring of the ride - CCTV only covered half. An element of under-staffing and a lack of emergency planning.”
It has now emerged that the accused would enter a guilty plea to the single charge faced. HSE prosecutor Ben Mills said the depth of water Evha entered "was beyond her head height".
Richard Matthews QC, representing Drayton Manor Park Ltd, said: "The prosecution's allegations of the extent of the failures and nature of them are something that isn't necessarily all agreed. It is likely that any sentencing court will have to grapple, in the usual way, with those issues."
The Leicester Mercury further reported that Mr Mills highlighted in court that Drayton Manor's latest accounts showed it turned over about £24m in 2019. Thus, a possible starting point for any fine for the theme park should be of £950,000, "with a range of £600,000 to £2.5m".
He also informed the court that the Drayton Manor Park Ltd had gone into administration since Evha's death, and that it was "imperative" any sentencing happened before the company was "formally dissolved". A coroner hearing an inquest into the death last summer raised six "matters of concern" relating to health and safety procedures, and a verdict of accidental death was reached.
The case was committed for sentencing, with the accused set to appear before Stafford Crown Court at an as yet unspecified date in the new year.
