- Tragically Evha lost her life on May 9 2017
- No Criminal charges were bought against the Park
TAMWORTH’S Drayton Manor Theme Park is facing a fine of up to £2.5 million for organisational safety failings following an 11-year-old girl’s death on a ride, a court has heard.
Evha Jannath was one of a party of children visiting the park from Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester, died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital after being rescued from the water of the Splash Canyon ride by theme park staff on May 9 2017.
A coroner at an inquest into the death, which took place last year, raised six matters of concern relating to health and safety procedures before publishing a report to other theme park operators highlighting the issues in December 2019.
Following the incident, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Drayton Manor Park Ltd would be prosecuted for a breach of health and safety law.
In March 2019 we reported that following a police investigation, a file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice.
This was then reviewed and a decision has been made that the circumstances surrounding Evha’s death do not meet the threshold for gross negligence or corporate manslaughter.
The entrance to the Splash Canyon ride.
During a hearing at Cannock Magistrates’ Court today, Tuesday, barristers for the theme park – which is now in administration – indicated they would enter a guilty plea to the single charge they face, under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The charge relates to a failure to ensure the safety of park guests.
In his address to the Court, HSE barrister Ben Mills described how Evha was jolted into the water, before falling while trying to climb a conveyor belt which took boats to the exit.
Giving an outline of the case against Drayton Manor, Ben Mills said:
“The prosecution arises from an investigation into the death of an 11-year-old girl called Evha Jannath.
“It appears she fell from the structure, at some point, and she sustained a significant chest injury.
“The depth of the water there was beyond her head height and she tragically drowned.
“The accident was caused by a constellation of different failures, relating to the safety of the public on the ride.”
He added it was the HSE’s case failings included ‘inadequate’ signage for those on the ride, ‘inadequate training’ for staff, ‘an element of under-staffing’ and ‘a lack of emergency planning’, while static CCTV ‘only covered 50% of the course’.
Mr Mills said: “The failures were at an organisational level and not levelled at the individuals seeking on the day, no doubt, to do their very best.”
11-year-old Evha Jannath
He added Drayton Manor’s latest accounts showed it turned over about £24 million in 2019, providing a possible starting point for any fine under the health and safety breach of £950,000. He said that it should be within with a range of £600,000 to £2.5 million.
But the HSE’s barrister added it would be for the court to consider whether that should increase substantially to reflect the fact that it was the cause of a death.
Richard Matthews QC, representing Drayton Manor, said:
“The prosecution’s allegations of the extent of the failures and nature of them are something that isn’t necessarily all agreed.”
He added the allegations would be subject to a more detailed basis of plea, to be submitted to the courts before any sentencing.
Mr Mills also told the court Drayton Manor Park Ltd has gone into administration since Evha’s death, and that it was imperative any sentencing happened before the company was formally dissolved.
He added Drayton Manor’s lawyers had agreed to tell prosecutors about any key future developments on the firm’s administration process.
Mr Matthews said the company had given that assurance, adding:
“For our part, for a great variety of reasons – not least those you’ve already identified concerning public interest – we will do our upmost to ensure the matter is heard before March 4, next year [and] finally determined.”
Both the prosecution and defence also asked for the case to be adjourned to a higher court to reflect the public interest and seriousness of this matter.
Agreeing with the application, District Judge Gregor committed the case for sentencing to be heard some time in the new year at Stafford Crown Court.
At Tamworth Informed, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Evha, along with the owners and Staff at Drayton Manor Park and the Emergency Services who were involved with this tragic incident over three years ago.
In May 2016, Tamworth Informed issued a plea to the public to show their support for the family-run theme park – and this view remains the same today.
