How safe is your local funfair? Investigation uncovers safety fears at popular parks - with major concerns over one safety inspector
A major investigation has uncovered safety fears at a number of popular fairground parks - with one inspector in particular raising concerns.
Accidents that have left young children 'completely covered in blood' and victims thrown out of rides 'like a ragdoll' are among those brought to light in the BBC's new Panorama programme.
But the horrific tragedies are now being unearthed as just scratching the surface in a long series of failings and refusals to carry out sufficient checks.
Travelling fairground sites and societies like the Showmen's Guild have notoriously rejected proposed safety measures, and the Adips (Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme) list has allowed controversial inspectors to continue in their job.
The owner of DMG Technical, David Geary, is one Wales-based inspector who has come under fire in the documentary, Funfairs: How Safe Are They?.
After a five-year-old's ankle was crushed by a rollercoaster at the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza festival in North Wales, Mr Geary received a criminal conviction and a fine for failing to identify risks.
He also admitted breaching health and safety regulations and was handed a suspended prison sentence in 2018 after a ride at the Funderpark funfair in Yiewsley, Hillingdon led to a mother-of-eight being catapulted from her seat.
The company, which admitted an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act, was fined £51,000.
Another case involving Mr Geary relates to the Airmaxx 360 in Hull Fair which led Jade Harrison, then 21, to suffer a broken jaw and lost tooth when she flew 15ft out of her seat in October 2019.
An eight-year-old girl had previously died in Australia on the same ride and it was never used again in the country - but it was sold three years later, in 2017, to the UK.
Mr Geary said his company had modified the ride following the Australian accident.
But this did not prevent Ms Harrison from suffering internal bruising, severe damage to both thighs, and more bruising all over her body when the horror accident took place.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had formally warned Mr Geary about eight safety breaches over the past 10 years - though his registration with Adips (Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme) was only suspended in March 2025.
The HSE has now said it is reviewing its industry safety guidance 'to decide whether it, and the system it underpins, remains fit for purpose'.
The Panorama programme tells in detail how former waitress Ms Harrison collided with a teenage boy and had to undergo a two-hour operation, requiring metal plates in her jaw.
She spoke out about the ordeal which 'could have killed her' and urged for more safety checks amid 3,188 injuries in England, Scotland and Wales between April 2014 and March 2024.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Harrison - aged 21 at the time of the accident - described hearing a 'clicking noise' in her back and the ride going on for around a minute and a half before it changed direction - the last 'concrete thing' she remembered.
Ms Harrison said she could feel herself 'slip' and that when she woke up she had a 'bit of amnesia' before starting to panic as she felt 'something wasn't right' in her mouth as it felt like all her teeth had 'gone'.
She also recalled her injuries vividly.
Ms Harrison said: 'I could barely walk, I broke my jaw completely in half. I had damage to mainly back teeth on both sides.
'I had internal bruising, severe damage to both thighs, and then just bruising all over my body, like black, purple bruises.'
Surgeons then had to remove two unsalvable teeth from Ms Harrison's mouth before placing three metal plates in her jaw which will 'stay there'.
In December last year, a woman who was injured when a 180ft Christmas fairground ride crashed to the ground in Birmingham put other locals off from partaking in the festivities.
The City Starflyer ride is provided by funfair suppliers Danter Attractions and is described as 'one of the tallest rides around'.
And only last month, a waltzer car came crashing out of a fairground attraction after it suddenly appeared to malfunction.
Footage taken at the Galactic Carnival Festival in Wester Hailed, Edinburgh showed the 'unthinkable' happening as the circular vehicle went flying.
Galactic Carnival Edinburgh issued an apology and remains under investigation.
Their statement said all rides undergo 'extensive safety testing in line with government guidelines' and inspection by adips.
They added: 'This incident is now being investigated by third party inspection bodies and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).'
Ride inspector Alex Nicholls has now called for a major overhaul of safety at funfairs.
He said: 'We can't allow this to happen again. You know, the names will change, but if the game is the same, then we're just going to have the same problems over and over.'
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