Inquest hears evidence on three-year-old’s death on inflatable trampoline
A funfair worker attempted to catch a three-year-old girl who was thrown higher than a house when an inflatable trampoline exploded, an inquest has heard.
Ava-May Littleboy was playing on the trampoline when it burst on the beach at Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk, England on July 1, 2018. Beth Jones, a friend of Ava-May’s aunt Abbie Littleboy, said the toddler “went up so high, it was higher than my house, about 20 feet [6 metres]”.
Jones said she heard a loud bang before she saw Ava-May in the air.
“There was a massive thud and Ava came down on her face and tummy. I wasn’t close enough to catch her,” said Jones.
She said a funfair worker “had her arms fully out to try to catch her, but she couldn’t as it was so quick”.
Abbie Littleboy said the sides of the inflatable trampoline seemed “stiff” but thought it was “meant to be” that way.
She said she saw Ava-May “flipping” through the air after a loud boom.
“I just remember my little niece flipping. Her eyes were closed and she didn’t scream. I remember looking at her little face and I think the force that sent her up had already done something to her. It was like she was asleep.”
Ava-May landed on her face on the sand, suffered a head injury and died in hospital.
In a statement read by the coroner, the child’s father Nathan Rowe said: “My heart is scattered all over that beach. I will never go back there as long as I live.”
The other child on the inflatable trampoline had no severe injuries.
Norfolk senior coroner Jacqueline Lake said the inquest would hear evidence about the “acquisition of the inflatable trampoline, risk assessments carried out, working practices at Johnson Funfairs Limited and the responsibilities and roles within that business”.
It would not “include the reason why the inflatable trampoline exploded”.
Last year, Norfolk Police announced that no individual or company would be charged with manslaughter offences over the incident.
The nine-day inquest continues.