Mum’s horror as 3-year-old daughter flung from giant spinning teacups at Margate’s Dreamland as ride forced to close
A MUM and her three-year-old daughter were injured after being hurled from a teacup ride at a theme park.
The attraction Kate Davies and little Poppy were sitting on became detached and they were “flung forwards” screaming in terror at Dreamland in Margate, Kent.
Her eight-year-old son Freddie, who was sitting in another teacup, suffered a cut lip after being shaken about by vibrations when the ride malfunctioned.
Dramatic photos showed the 38-year-old teacher from Bromley receiving first-aid treatment, sitting dazed and holding her head.
Her vision went blurry and she had nasty bruises on her arm, while Poppy suffered a bump to her head.
Kate’s ‘traumatised’ son Freddie, aged eight, who had been in another teacup, has now been put off going to theme parks.
An ambulance was called, but operators said there would be a long wait, so Kate’s husband William, 41, drove his wife and children to the QEQM Hospital in Margate himself.
Dreamland bosses say they have been in touch with the family and that the cups and saucers attraction has been repaired and certified safe for use.
But Emma told KentOnline “We still haven’t had an explanation as to what even went wrong.
“It just made us concerned because you just think ‘I don’t know if the rides are being maintained properly’.
“It’s pretty horrible. For my children it was pretty traumatic because we’d gone there for a fun day out and then quite quickly into the day all of this happened.”
She and William had taken their children to Dreamland for the first time last Wednesday.
She accompanied the youngsters on a couple of rides before they headed for the cups and saucers attraction.
“My son nearly came in the same teacup as me and my daughter, but thankfully he said he wanted his own one.”
As the ride began, they were asked by the operator if they would like to be spun, and Poppy enthusiastically said yes.
Kate said “She was spinning it every time we went past, and the next thing I knew, the entire teacup detached from the base and, where it was spinning, it flung forwards into the ride’s railings.
“I just remember it flinging forwards and this really severe pain in the back of my head. I had my daughter next to me.
“I could hear people sort of screaming and I could hear my husband.
“He had just turned around to put his jacket in the bag then he heard all this screaming.
“He could see the ride had come apart, and then he was frightened because he couldn’t see exactly what happened to us initially, so he was panicking.”
Distressed little Poppy was lifted out of the cup as Dreamland staff and members of the public rushed over.
Kate suffered an injury to the head and her right arm, while her daughter had a less severe bump on her head.
“I remember my arm was really painful and the back of my head” said Kate.
“People were asking if I could stand up, but I just felt really dizzy and really weak.
“I said, ‘I don’t think I can’ and then the vision in my right eye went really blurry.”
At the hospital, Kate and her children were checked over and later discharged.
Kate later went back to A&E in Bromley where X-rays showed nothing was broken.
“I was actually very fortunate that we landed like we did because we could have got our arms stuck in the railings or our legs.
“Or the bang on the head could have been more severe or my daughter could have been trapped.
“That was the end of our day out. We spent the rest of it in the hospital and then we just drove home.”
She said Dreamland staff on duty were ‘very helpful and supportive’ and the family was offered some free food and drinks.
They have since been invited to return to Dreamland by bosses.
But the family have been put off fairground rides for now.
“We were looking to book Legoland but William is now saying he doesn’t want to go, which is horrible because we’ve got two small children” said Kate.
“The last thing we want is to have a situation where our family doesn’t want to go to any theme parks because prior to that my son loved going on rides.
“I love those sorts of rides as well but it does put you off because if something as minor as the teacups can go wrong and you have those sorts of injuries, it’s terrifying to think what could happen to a bigger one.”
On Dreamland’s website, the cups and saucers attraction is currently listed as ‘having a tune-up’.
A spokesman said “On Wednesday, July 31, an incident occurred on the cups and saucers attraction, one of the rides for younger visitors.
“Dreamland’s standard safety procedures were put in place, overseen by the park manager.
“The family was checked over and given immediate care by the qualified first aiders on site. Dreamland has been in touch with the family subsequently.
“The cups and saucers attraction has been repaired and certified safe for use and the family have been invited to return to Dreamland at a time of their choice.
“All rides are independently certified by the Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme.
“The safety and wellbeing of all visitors to Dreamland is a top priority.”