Teenager 'thought she was going to die' falling out of Goose Fair ride

Operation of the ride was stopped for the rest of the evening - but it restarted the next day

A teenager "thought she was going to die" after falling out of a ride at Nottingham's Goose Fair. Kadyleigh McKee, 13, was on the "Avalanche", operated by a travelling showman, at around 7.30pm on Friday, October 4.

Kadyleigh, who had been on the same ride last year without issue, was initially enjoying her time on the Avalanche with her sister, cousins and auntie. But five minutes into the ride, she began to slip and ended up dropping from around fifteen feet onto the floor below.

Mum Michaela said: "She told me she thought she was going to die. She thought it was her last moment. She's traumatised and won't go on a ride ever again. My other daughter was petrified as well because she says her seat was moving as well. she was shaking."

The Avalanche was the first ride that the family, from Bilborough, stopped at, after getting off the bus on Mansfield Road near the entrance to the site. There were eight of Kadyleigh's family members on the ride including her, with a number of other unrelated members of the public also getting on.

But Michaela, 38, says that while everybody else on the ride was double-checked that they were strapped in, Kadyleigh wasn't. Around five minutes in, Kadyleigh noticed she was slipping and cried out for help, Michaela claims.

She said: "Kadyleigh started shouting to my sister in law next to her: 'We need to stop the ride, we need to stop the ride, I'm going to fall.' I saw her do a roly poly in the air and flop to the floor. I rushed over. I was frantic. I was just shouting: 'That's my daughter, that's my daughter.'"

Michaela says that Kadyleigh had been knocked unconscious when landing, before coming round seconds later. Shocked onlookers watched as the emergency stop button was finally pressed and the other riders were slowly lowered to the ground.

The family called for the on-site paramedics, who checked her over and said she was fine - but the family opted to take her to hospital anyway. The ride was stopped for the rest of the night while event staff checked it for faults.

It reopened the next day. Kadyleigh was eventually diagnosed with concussion, a sprained elbow and with internal bruising to her ribs and has not attended school for the past week after complaining of "banging" headaches and nausea.

Her mother claims the local GP has advised that if the headaches and nausea continue to seek a hospital scan. The only compensation Kadyleigh's family has received is a £4 refund for the price of a ticket for the ride.

Nottinghamshire Police has been made aware of the incident. Nottingham City Council, which runs Goose Fair but does not operate individual rides, said: “Nottingham City Council is aware of the incident and has been in touch with the injured party. Medical assistance was offered at the scene.

"Following the incident, as per Goose Fair regulations, ride operation was ceased for the rest of the evening whilst initial investigations took place between the ride operator/owner and the Event Health & Safety Officer. Further investigations took place the next morning in daylight.

"All fairground rides in the UK comply with the Amusement Devices Inspection Procedures Scheme (ADIPS), and following an incident such as this, a qualified and independent ADIPS inspector attended the site to investigate and inspect the ride and the potential cause of the incident. Following inspection of the ride, approval was granted for the ride to continue operation.

"The Council takes safety at Goose Fair very seriously. Whilst the safety of individual rides is a matter for the ride owner, the Council has recorded the incident with the Health & Safety Executive under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) as required by law.”

A spokesperson for the Health & Safety Executive said: “This incident was reported to us by Nottingham City Council and we are making enquiries into what happened."

Nottinghamshire Live has contacted the ride operator for comment.