TWO former trampoline park bosses face jail after 11 people broke their backs jumping from a 13ft high tower into a foam-filled pit.
Scores of people were injured on a daily basis at Flip Out — including three who fractured their spines on the same day.
Liza Jones, pictured with paramedics, was one of three people who suffered fractured spines at Flip Out on the same day in February 2017WNS
Lucy Jones, then 18, broke her back in January 2017, and needed bolts inserted into her spinePA Real Life
flipoutThe 13ft high tower from which customers jumped into a foam-filled pit[/caption]
David Shuttleworth and Matthew Melling, both 33, appeared in court last month and admitted health and safety charges.
They face up to two years behind bars and hefty fines.
Council chiefs launched a probe after 270 accidents in just seven weeks from December 2016 to February 2017 at Flip Out Chester.
They mostly occurred on the Tower Jump equipment, said by the franchise’s directors Shuttleworth and Melling to be the largest in the world.
Liza Jones, from Wrexham, North Wales, was one of three people who suffered fractured spines on the same day in February 2017 at the 40,000 sq ft trampoline centre near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
The 26-year-old said she was left in the “most pain I’ve ever suffered” after leaping from the platform into a foam-filled pit.
Liza said: “I could have been left paralysed.
“People visiting these centres may feel they’re safe because they’ve got rules for people to follow but that’s just not true.”
Lucy Jones, then 18, broke her back in January 2017.
She said: “I felt the worst pain ever.
“The only thing I could think was, ‘Will I ever walk again?’.”
The dental nurse later needed a five-hour op to fit metal rods in her back.
Over the first four months the park was open, medics attended on average once a week.
The number of injuries was so severe Countess of Chester Hospital bosses called a meeting with the park.
Melling, of Manchester, and Shuttleworth, of Barlaston, Staffs, later quit the franchise, which is now in new hands.
Both will be sentenced at Chester crown court on a later date.
Councillor Christine Warner said: “This business had a total disregard for safety regulations.”
Flip Out, with 30 UK centres, said: “The incidents relate to a specific piece of equipment that was immediately closed.
“Our systems and procedures have since evolved significantly.”
Matthew Melling and David Shuttleworth, right, admitted health and safety charges.MEN Media Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
