Family speaks for the first time about Ayrshire fairground accident

As five teenagers recover after being injured in a fairground ride in Ayr at the weekend, one of them is speaking for the first time about the incident.

Published 8th Sep 2016

As five teenagers recover after being injured in a fairground ride in Ayr at the weekend, one of them is speaking for the first time about the incident.

14 year-old Kelsey Smith from Ayr is one of the lucky ones, escaping serious injury and walking away with muscle and tendon pain in her back.

But it could have been a lot worse as the keen basketball player felt her legs go numb after the collapse.

She’s been speaking exclusively to our reporter Bekki Clark:

Around 9:30pm on Saturday 3rd September 2016, emergency services were called to an incident involving a fairground ride on land near to Ayr Race Course.

It is reported that seats came loose on the Move-It ride as the attraction was in motion.

Emergency services attended and two teenage boys, aged 16 and 17, as well as three teenage girls, aged 14, 15 and 16, were taken to Ayr and Crosshouse Hospitals for treatment – they’ve all since been released.

A joint investigation between Police Scotland and the Health & Safety Executive’s been launched to establish the exact circumstances of the incident.

Kelsey’s mum Gillian raced to the scene after a phone call from her panicked daughter.

Chief Inspector Brian Shaw said: “This was a frightening experience for those involved and those who witnessed last night’s incident at the fairground.

“Thankfully nobody was seriously injured and enquiries are underway to establish what exactly has happened here.

"The ride affected remains closed and cordoned off whilst the joint investigation is underway. Other unaffected rides re-open later this morning following a safety inspection.

“I would appeal to anyone who witnessed last night’s incident and is yet to speak to police to get in touch as any information about what happened could assist with our investigation.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101.”