Disgraced boss avoids jail over cover up plot after four kids broke their legs at his filthy trampoline park
A SHAMED boss who tried to cover up after four kids broke their legs at his filthy trampoline park has avoided jail.
Philip Booth, 60, failed to notify the authorities after the boy and girl, aged three, and two girls, nine and 11, were hurt.
The youngsters had broken their legs while jumping on trampolines and into foam pits at American-themed Supajump in Cardiff, Wales.
Booth has now been avoided jail at Cardiff Crown Court and was instead handed a 10 month sentence suspended for 18 months.
He was also slapped with a £20,000 bill – £10,000 for court costs and £10,000 the company must pay.
Booth previously pleaded guilty to four counts of failing to report an accident which saw a person taken to hospital.
The boss also admitted two counts of failing to ensure people were not exposed to health and safety risks from using play equipment.
Cardiff Crown Court heard between August 2017 and August 2019 six separate incidents occurred on the premises that left children injured.
An eight-year-old girl was left “covered in blood” when she fell through a gap between an airbag and the floor and banged her face.
The youngster was struggling to breathe while trapped under the airbag, with Booth later telling her mum: “It’s just a graze”.
One girl broke two bones in her leg jumping into a foam pit before hitting a hard object beneath.
Another child – a three-year-old girl – had her leg placed in plaster up to her hip after breaking her leg at the park.
The court heard another young woman suffered a spinal injury at the trampoline park – but Booth has not been charged over that incident.
Staff only offered a wet towel or ice pack as they had not undergone first aid training.
When investigators visited the foam pit they discovered it had not been cleaned.
Prosecutor Carl Harrison said: “When the foam cubes were removed there was no maintenance or cleaning for months.
“They found amongst other things socks, broken plastic cups, a missing trampoline spring, a sanitary towel, coins, electronic devices, a rolled up cigarette and a lighter.”
Officials also discovered some of the 20,000 square feet trampoline area had no padding.
Booth was visited by regulators before opening and advised to have an independent safety check but “chose to ignore” the advice saying “it is only guidance”.
Jentencing, Judge Matthew Porter-Bryant told Booth: “Your premises opened in April 2017 and problems soon became evident – problems that should have been anticipated by you.
“Facilities and premises like yours are premises that ought to remove risk. They should give young children the fun and exhilaration of those activities without risk of injury.
“People trust in those premises and trust in people like you that all appropriate precautions have been taken. In this case, in your case, that trust was sorely misplaced.
“It is clear that early on that you as the controlling mind of that company to take on health and safety advice.
“You chose to open at a time that it should have been apparent to you that the premises were not ready to be open safely.”