Basildon: Payout after girl injured

Hannah Blyde, 13, fell down a flight of stairs severing the main artery in her knee while she played Quasar in the Basildon Bowl last year.

She now walks with a severe limp, and doctors initially feared she would lose her leg.

Her mother, Sheila, of Crowstone Road, Grays, said she now intended to sue the company for thousands of pounds of compensation.

She added: "It has been a very traumatic time for us. Hannah has never been very athletic but this has affected her character. Her leg is never going to be normal. She has had a number of operations to correct it.

"We have approached a solicitor about compensation but had to wait for the verdict here before proceeding."

Allied Leisure, which owns the leisure complex in Basildon town centre, pleaded guilty at Basildon Magistrates' Court to seven counts of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The stairs in the dark Quasar zone were meant to be lit by a strip of lights on every step. Only two steps were lit and one of those was inadequate, the court heard.

Rebecca Atkinson, prosecuting on behalf of Basildon Council, said: "Hannah was at the top of the stairs which led to a passage.

"When she looked down she could only see two steps illuminated at the bottom, so she overstepped and fell."

The facility was closed down for a month while officers from the health and safety department at the council investigated.

Malcolm Nicholls, managing director of Allied Leisure, said: "Our sympathies go out to the customer.

"I know words can't compensate. We pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and have reacted heavily to the breach of the act.

"It is clear we had a fair hearing and we have no complaints about the fine given."

Magistrates fined the company £32,000 with £1,692.16 costs. After the result was read out, Mrs Blyde said: "I suppose I am quite happy with today's result."

Published Friday July 16, 2004

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