Former bosses of a trampoline park in Chester could potentially face jail time after 11 people suffered broken backs at the venue. The incidents occurred over a seven-week period between December 2016 and February 2017, with individuals sustaining fractured spines. David Shuttleworth and Matthew Melling, both 33 and in charge of running the park, pleaded guilty to health and safety offences at Chester Crown Court last month.
During the court hearing, it was revealed that Cheshire West And Chester Council’s public protection team conducted an investigation into 270 incidents at Flip Out Chester, where injuries were reported on a daily basis. The injuries primarily occurred on a piece of equipment called the Tower Jump, where three individuals sustained fractured spines after jumping from a 13ft-high tower into a pit filled with foam blocks in a single day.
Shuttleworth, from Barlaston, Staffordshire, and Melling, from Spinningfields, Manchester, admitted to failing to prevent visitors from being exposed to risk. The case has been adjourned for pre-sentence reports, and a date for sentencing has yet to be determined. The two individuals may potentially face imprisonment and substantial fines.
Records from Companies House indicate that Shuttleworth resigned as the director of the business in July 2018, while Melling quit in January 2020. Flip Out Chester is now operated by a different franchisee.
Christine Warner, the cabinet member for safer communities at Cheshire West And Chester Council, expressed the council’s strong stance against businesses that put residents or visitors at risk. She stated that the park exhibited a total disregard for safety regulations, resulting in injuries that included 11 fractured spines among adults and children.
One of the injured individuals, Liza Jones, 26, from Wrexham, Wales, took legal action after suffering a fractured spine from using the Tower Jump. Jones welcomed the court action, emphasizing that she could have been left paralyzed and highlighting the importance of proper health and safety measures in such establishments.
The safety of trampoline parks in the UK has also been a topic of concern. A study conducted by the University of Sydney, published in the British Medical Journal’s Injury Prevention in June 2022, revealed that trampolines accounted for half of all A&E admissions in children under the age of 14 in the UK. The study examined 11 studies worldwide and found that children were more likely to sustain serious injuries requiring hospital treatment at trampoline parks compared to using trampolines at home. However, there were fewer arm injuries, cuts, and concussions reported among children using trampoline parks.
