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  • Emily Prescott

FUNFAIR HORROR Boy, 12, cheats death after falling out of ‘Extreme’ funfair ride

A BOY nearly died after falling from a ride and breaking both his legs but the travelling funfair remains open.


Theo Shaw, 12, was rushed to hospital with broken limbs and a gash on his head after being flung from a ride called “Extreme” at Brockwell Park in London.

Medics attended the horrific scene just before 6pm on Tuesday evening, August 27, and took Theo to King's College Hospital.


Theo’s mum Aileen O'Brien who works at St George’s Trust Hospital in Tooting is calling for the entire fair to be shut down.


She said: "He's going to have surgery tomorrow and he will not be able to walk for eight weeks.


"I do understand accidents happen but children should be able to go on rides without getting hurt.


"I can't believe it's open today, they [Lambeth Council] should close the whole thing down.


"There is clearly a problem with health and safety across the board."


Friends who were with Theo on the ride told Ms O’Brien the restraint failed to come down properly.


They claim one of Theo’s friends tried to grab onto him while screaming for the ride to stop.


Theo allegedly started slipping out as the ride span with staff not becoming aware he was in trouble until he fell.


A spokesperson for Lambeth Council confirmed earlier today that the ride in question had been closed but that the funfair was still open.


They told The Sun Online: "This ride has been closed, and we are working with the HSE and the police to investigate the cause of this incident.


"We will take any further action required once the investigation has been completed and the full facts have been established.


“We wish the boy a speedy recovery.”


A HSE spokesperson said: "HSE is aware and attending the scene.


"Enquiries are at an early stage and there will be an investigation."


The Sun Online approached organisers Bensons Funfairs but the spokesperson said: “I don’t know anything about it as I wasn’t there.”


They are yet to offer further comment.


London Ambulance Service confirmed this was not the first incident to happen at the funfair in Brockwell Park, which is between Herne Hill and Tulse Hill and south of Brixton.


On Friday, August 23, at 3.54pm, paramedics were called to "reports of an incident at Brockwell Park" and "treated a man at the scene and took him to hospital".


A mum who was at the fair claimed the man was a funfair employee who suffered a cardiac arrest on a waltzer ride, which also gave her an electric shock.


She said: "I can't believe something's happened again, when my partner called me I thought it was a prank."


The funfair is set to continue until September 2.


Anyone with information about the incident on Extreme is asked to call police on 101.

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