Ava-May Littleboy: Owner jailed over exploding inflatable which killed toddler on Norfolk beach

The owner of a funfair business has been jailed for health and safety failings after an inflatable trampoline exploded and killed a toddler.

Ava-May Littleboy suffered fatal head injuries after being thrown into the air as she played on the inflatable attraction on Gorleston beach in Norfolk in July 2018.

Curt Johnson, operations manager at Johnson Funfair Ltd, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching health and safety laws.

At Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Friday, district judge Christopher Williams fined the business £20,000 and jailed Johnson for six months.

"It is a case of such seriousness I conclude a deterrent message is needed in this case," he told Johnson.

"Ultimately a child unnecessarily lost their life because of failures on your behalf."

He added: "There is no sentence I can pass that can make right this awful tragedy."

The company must also pay costs of more than £117,000 to the Health and Safety Executive, and £171,000 to Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

Johnson, 52, was barred from being a company director for five years.

There was visible relief from Ava-May's family as the sentence was delivered, with her mother breaking down in tears.

Johnson, dressed smartly in shirt and knee-length grey coat, listened closely and remained emotionless as the sentence was read out, before he was led away.

Ava-May was just three years old when she was killed.

She was on holiday with her parents from Somersham in Suffolk when the incident happened.

Witnesses described hearing a loud bang and seeing the girl thrown into the air.

A lifeguard and paramedics fought to save her, and she was taken to the James Paget Hospital but died from her injuries.

Prosecutor Pascal Bates told the court at the sentencing hearing that witnesses described Ava-May being thrown up to 40ft in the air, with one saying she went “higher than the surrounding buildings”.

Mr Bates said that a second girl, aged nine, who had been on the trampoline suffered “no significant injuries”.

Johnson admitted that he had not obtained operating and safety instructions for the Chinese-bought inflatable, and had not prepared a specific risk assessment for the trampoline.

An inquest in March 2020 found the funfair ride had been inspected by an independent company just four days before the accident - and was found to be unsafe to use.

But because the trampoline was not registered with an official testing scheme, no record was made of those concerns - and no action taken to stop it being used.

Impact statements from her parents were read out at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Her father, Nathan Rowe said: "I feel inadequate as a parent. I took my child on holiday and she was killed. Knowing she'd never walk through the door again into our house was just soul-destroying."

Ava-May's mother Chloe Littleboy added: "Every day after losing Ava was a blur. How do you start to plan the funeral of your three year old daughter?"

Oliver Campbell KC, for Johnson, said that 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”.

Mr Campbell said that “despite the length of the investigation we do not know exactly how or why this trampoline so sadly exploded”.

He described the explosion as “unforeseeable”, adding that the “possibility of an explosion was not a recognised risk”.

HSE principal inspector Ivan Brooke said: “The operator flouted the rules on certification and testing to devastating consequences.

“Had the company carried out the required checks and followed the freely available, well-established guidance, this tragedy would not have happened.

“Since the tragedy, and following the inquest, we published supplementary guidance more specific to sealed inflatables.

“They should be checked over by the responsible body before they are used, and maintained effectively throughout.

“Incidents with inflatables are extremely rare, but we will not hesitate to take strong action if funfairs do not take the required precautions.”

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