The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to embark on a programme of targeted travelling ride inspections after several serious accidents in recent years.
The rides being targeted are understood to include Round Ups, Crazy Frogs, Twists and Star Flyers, among others where speed settings can be manually adjusted.
ITV reported that the HSE aims to conduct about 100 unannounced inspections this year following recent incidents on travelling rides in London, Barrow, Cardiff, Hull and Barnsley.
The Barrow incident occurred at the Fudstock event in 2021, which saw a woman critically injured after being ejected from a Twist – or Sizzler-type – ride.
Three people were thrown from a similar ride in Cardiff last year, while 2019’s Hull Fair saw a woman thrown from the AirMaxx 360 ride, which was later found to have been insufficiently inspected.
HSE inspector David Kivlin said: “HSE recognises that recent incidents have raised public awareness of the potential for injury and harm to users of such devices when they are not set up, maintained and operated in-line with manufacturer guidance or good practice standards.”
In a report by the Guardian newspaper yesterday, it was revealed that HSE staff numbers had fallen from 3,700 in 2010 to 2,400 last year, with the UK government also making considerable cuts to the regulator’s budget.
A budget of £228 million in 2010 was reported to have fallen to £126 million in 2019, before increasing to £185 million last year.