A PRESTATYN mother has told of how her child was forced to jump mid-air from a ride that malfunctioned at an Easter fair.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was forced to pick up her daughter and nephew– both 12 – after they were drenched in oil from a split hydraulic hose on a ride while with a group of four friends at the Prestatyn Easter funfair and Kite Festival on Tuesday, April 16.

As a result, organisers of the annual fair at Bastion Gardens Jan de Koning Fun Fairs have offered to reimburse the children for their damaged clothes and replaced parts of the hydraulics system before reopening the attraction- believed to be called The Orbiter

Rhyl Journal:

The woman said: “The children were all screaming in mid-air. They had to jump from a height to get off the ride.

“They said the ride shot up too far before it popped and they were soaked in what must have been hydraulic oil.

"My two went to Tesco washed their eyes and face before I collected them. They were saturated in the stuff, both of their jackets were sodden with oil."

The children claim that prior to getting on the ride, they had been told initially to wait for a technician to conduct checks, yet an operator allowed the ride to start before they were completed.

The woman added: "The children told me the man became impatient while they were waiting and started the ride himself anyway.

“They could have been seriously injured, scarred with facial burns. There's no way to regulate the temperature of oil like that."

The group also experienced problems on another attraction, believed to be called The Miami Trip, claiming that a bolt came lose during the ride causing loud "cracking" noises .

The woman said: "I’m just so grateful they are not harmed in any way, but they wont be going back."

"Lots of young children and holiday makers attend the fair, but this doesn't bode well for a safe seaside resort."

Prestatyn and Meliden mayor, cllr Anton Sampson responded: "The safety of our residents is paramount and whilst I don't wish to be a fly in the ointment regarding people enjoying themselves I would urge the operators to be extra vigilant and double check everything before operating. You should never take safety for granted."

The incident has been attributed to a "mechanical breakdown" and has not been reported to the Health and Safety executive.

A spokesperson for Jan de Koning Fun Fairs responded: "Unfortunately, there was an incident involving one of our attractions at the annual Prestatyn Easter funfair and Kite Festival on April 16.

"The attraction, which is hydraulically powered, suffered a split hose that sprayed oil onto six passengers on the ride. The ride was immediately stopped and the passengers were never in any danger.

"All of the passengers were attended or spoken to by one of our first aiders at the scene and, fortunately, there were no injuries. Obviously we have apologised for any distress caused and also offered to reimburse any cleaning or, if necessary, replacement costs for any soiled or damaged clothes belonging to these passengers.

"In addition to the rigorous checks carried out daily, this ride received its full annual Health and Safety ADIPS check on April 6 before opening at this event. Although there were no obvious defects in the hydraulic hosing on the attraction either at that time or subsequently, we have taken the precaution of changing all twelve of the hoses that this could possibly happen to before re-opening the attraction to the public.

"This incident has not been reported to the HSE because it was a mechanical breakdown, as opposed to an accident, the ride failed safely as it is designed to do, and there were no injuries."