SWNSA three-year-old girl has died after an inflatable trampoline exploded while she was playing on it.
Ava-May Littleboy died after an inflatable trampoline, at a beach in Great Yarmouth, exploded due to the heat.
The accident happened in front of Ava-May’s mother, 25-year-old Chloe Littleboy, who saw her daughter get thrown 20 feet into the air when the accident happened.
SWNSPolice were called at 11:15am on Sunday morning, and ambulance crews arrived within four minutes, reports The Telegraph.
A lifeguard, as well as the paramedics who came to Ava-May’s aid attempted to revive her, performing CPR, before being taken to James Paget Hospital.
Ava-May died shortly after arriving.
I will love you always and forever. Sleep tight my little angel. My everything my princess !Until I see you again ? my heart is broken xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Posted by Laura Reid on Monday, 2 July 2018
Ava-May’s auntie, Laura Reid, posted a tribute on Facebook, which read:
I will love you always and forever. Sleep tight my little angel. My everything my princess ! Until I see you again my heart is broken xxxx
Another aunt, Abbie Littleboy, created a crowdfunding page in order to dedicate a bench to Ava-May in a local park.
The page reads:
On 1st July 2018, 3 year old Ava-May Littleboy tragically lost her life after a bouncy castle exploded on Gorleston beach, Norfolk.
Her family would like to kindly ask for donations to help fund a child’s bench in memory of Ava that will be put in her local park of Somersham, Suffolk.
SWNSThe Bounce About attraction in Norfolk was designed for use by just one person at a time. Ava-May was the only child on the trampoline.
The owner of the attraction, Curt Johnson, was reportedly not at the scene but told the Mirror the trampoline burst ‘because of the heat’.
He said:
We have been at the beach for a very long time, definitely a number of years and it is the first accident we have had there and it is quite shocking.
He also sent his condolences to Ava-May’s family.
An eyewitness spoke about the accident, who recalled:
I was walking away from the beach and I heard the most enormous bang and straight away turned round. I was at the top of the stairs near the cliff that overlooks the beach and people were all there and everyone was in shock.
I spoke to someone who described how the girl was just thrown about 20ft into the air and landed on the floor. It was just terrible.
A man was giving the girl CPR for quite a while before they took her hospital. The bouncy castle was not like one I have seen before. It was like a trampoline so you could jump a lot higher on it than a normal one.
SWNSConservative MP Robert Halfon called for a ban on inflatable bouncy castles, saying:
There should be a temporary ban on bouncy castles in public areas until we can ensure they are safe.
These are two tragic deaths of two beautiful little children in the space of a few years and there needs to be an urgent investigation in the regulation and inspection regimes. You cannot risk a tragedy like this happening again.
After two horrific tragedies, Government need to look at update of regulations and inspection regime and consider a temporary ban on bouncy castles in public areas until we can be sure that they are safe. https://t.co/pjXom7r5DT
— Robert Halfon MP (@halfon4harlowMP) July 1, 2018
Our thoughts are with Ava-May’s family and friends at this difficult time.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.