The owner of a beach inflatable which exploded, causing the death of a little girl, has been jailed.
Ava-May Littleboy, from Lower Somersham in Suffolk, was with her family at Gorleston Beach in Norfolk in 2018 when the incident happened.
She went on an inflatable trampoline at a funfair run by Johnsons Funfair Ltd. The inflatable exploded and Ava-May was thrown “higher than a house” according to witnesses.
She appeared unconscious before she hit the floor. Ava-May had suffered a fatal head injury.
Parents Nathan Rowe and Chloe Littleboy described their daughter as a “bright, funny, beautiful girl” and said they hoped “people see the serious risks these attractions can pose”.
Another child, nine, was on the trampoline but did not sustain “significant physical injury”, Great Yarmouth Borough Council confirmed.
Curt Johnson, 52, and his company Johnsons Funfair Ltd both previously admitted two counts of breaching health and safety laws.
A 2020 inquest found that the company had no procedure in place to manage the trampoline’s inflation. It has also not been checked by a third party and had no instruction manual.
In mitigation, Oliver Campbell said his client Johnson and his wife “deeply regret” the incident and Ava-May’s “tragic death”.
“He apologises sincerely to the court and the family for his failings,” he said, adding that the company “ceased trading some time ago and will not trade again”.
During sentencing at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Williams told Johnson: “There is no sentence I can pass that can make right this awful tragedy”.
“I reflect on the suffering and anguish the family has been through. Ultimately a child has lost their life because of failures on your part. This is a case that’s of such seriousness that I have to conclude a deterrent sentence is necessary.”
Curt Johnson was jailed for six months and banned from being a company director for five years.
Johnsons Funfair Ltd was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £300,000 to the Health & Safety Executive and Great Yarmouth Borough Council, who brought the prosecution.
