Former theme park operator fined £1m after child’s death

The former operator of Drayton Manor Theme Park has been fined £1m for safety failures on its water rapids ride that led to the death of an 11-year-old girl.

At a sentencing hearing at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday, Justice Spencer called the death of Evha Jannath, who drowned after falling from the Splash Canyon ride during a school trip in May 2017, “an utterly tragic waste of a young life”.

However, the judge acknowledged there was “no prospect of the fine being paid” because of the financial troubles faced by the company run by the Bryan family, who owned the Staffordshire theme park for six decades until its sale last year to European leisure park operator Looping Group after it filed for administration.

The case was brought by the Health and Safety Executive over “systemic failures” leading to the accident. “The control measures they had [on the ride] were failing every day,” said James Puzey, the barrister for the HSE, at the opening of the hearing on Wednesday.

Drayton Manor Park Ltd, in which the Bryan family were majority shareholders, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Colin Bryan, former managing director at the park, did not immediately respond to the Financial Times’ request for comment.

An HSE investigation found shortfalls in Drayton Manor’s risk assessment for the ride, which led to the schoolgirl being ejected from the raft, adding that patchy CCTV coverage and no system to rescue people after falling into the water also contributed to the schoolgirl’s drowning.

In 2016, Alton Towers operator Merlin Entertainments was fined £5m for a rollercoaster crash that left 16 people injured, including two teenage girls who required leg amputations. Following the incident at the rival Drayton Manor the following year Merlin temporarily closed their water rides to conduct a review of safety measures.

Looping bought Drayton Manor last year after the hit from England’s lockdown measures led to the previous owners declaring insolvency. Drayton Manor Resort, the park’s new operator owned by Looping, told the FT: “Our thoughts are with the Jannath family and all those affected by the tragedy at this time.”

Theme parks in England are closed but are expected to reopen on April 12. Most of Drayton Manor’s nearly 600 employees are on furlough.