Seven-year-old boy in 'critical condition' following Lightwater Valley incident

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Ivor Bennett

A seven-year-old boy is in critical condition following an incident at Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire.

Emergency services were called to the park near Ripon at 11:30 am on Thursday 30th May.

The child was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary by Yorkshire Air Ambulance, where he remains in hospital with head injuries. North Yorkshire Police said the boy was conscious when emergency services arrived and his injuries were believed to not be life-threatening, however, he is now in a 'critical but stable' condition.

Witnesses at the park claimed to see the child fall from the Twister rollercoaster. The Health and Safety Executive has launched an investigation.

Mark Charnley, who is visiting the region on holiday from Barrow-in-Furness, told ITV News he saw the boy 'hanging backwards from the carriage', before he fell. He said members of the public and an off-duty police officer ran to help the boy.

  • Eyewitness recalls the moment 'everybody started shouting'

  • Latest statement from North Yorkshire Police

  • Latest statement from Lightwater Valley

The park remains open today Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Following the incident, the theme park remained open to the public. The ride concerned 'will remain closed until a full investigation has taken place.'

Earlier, Lightwater Valley confirmed that Health and Safety Executive (HSE) personnel were on-site.

In a statement, Lightwater Valley said they were "committed to providing support to the affected family."

  • Aerial footage shows the Twister ride from the sky

The Twister ride is described as giving riders "the impression that they might not make it around the next corner, with the threat of plummeting into the treetops" on the official Lightwater Valley theme park website.

The information on the web page has now been removed.

The information on the page has since been removed from the site Credit: Lightwater Valley

  • Theme park visitor Emma Rowland tweeted this video of the air ambulance landing at the park. Credit: @Rowlandbird

  • Lara-Susan James claims the incident happened on the Twister rollercoaster. Credit: @larasue

  • Simon Moran, a visitor at the park posted these pictures of the ride on his Twitter account. Credit: @sirimo

In a statement, Lightwater Valley park confirmed the ride remains closed but the rest of the park is open.