Incident Report: Josh Ritchie

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A 12-year-old boy, Josh Ritchie, was injured when he descended a waterslide with insufficient water flow, causing him to collide with the end of the catch unit. The boy descended The Wipout waterslide at the Beach Leisure Centre in Aberdeen on 11 August 2011. On entering the catch unit at the bottom, the lack of water designed to bring riders to a halt caused him to collide with the end of the catch unit. The boy fractured his right ankle and shinbone. 

The HSE investigation revealed evidence that there was insufficient water in the catch unit to bring riders safely to a halt. It was found that on the day of the incident, the pool plant operator, who was responsible for matters relating to the flume, started their shift later than normal. Twenty-four hours before the incident, two values in the base of the catch unit were inadvertently left open, and the pumps switched off. The operator had failed to recognise that she had actually closed the water flow valve rather than opened it as she had intended. 

After receiving a call from a lifeguard stationed at the bottom of The Wipeout waterslide to say that no water was flowing down the waterslide, the operator returned to the plant room to rectify the problem. Unfortunately, the lifeguard at the top of the waterslide remained unaware of the problem with the water flow and proceeded to allow the boy to descend the waterslide and sustain serious injury before the problem could be rectified by the operator. 

R v Sport Aberdeen (2013) (unreported, 3 July 2013)

Sport Aberdeen, a charitable trust set up by the local authority to run the swimming pool, was prosecuted for a breach of section 3 of The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to take all reasonably practicable precautions to prevent non-employees from being exposed to a risk to their health and safety. The trust pleaded guilty to the section 3 charge and was fined £8,000. 

John Radcliffe, an HSE Inspector, said after the hearing (Urquart, 2013):

"The HSE fully supports and encourages the use of leisure and sporting facilities in the local community. Whilst riding on any water slide is not risk-free, as the body can be turned around or over at high speed by the water flow as part of the thrill of the ride, this type of incident fell well outside the acceptable risk that customers accept by using
such equipment.

The injury sustained by the child, whilst serious enough, could have been much worse as an impact like that runs the risk of serious spinal injuries. The public rightly expects to be able to visit such facilities without being exposed to such a serious risk of injury. The incident was entirely foreseeable and preventable had proper, competent control been exercised by Sport Aberdeen.”

Sport Aberdeen updated its procedure to ensure flumes are run for 30 minutes before allowing riders to use the slide. The trust also improved its communication system to check water flow and water depth through a revised induction and training programme.

References (4)

BBC News. 2013. Sport Aberdeen fined after boy injured at Beach Leisure Centre. Available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-23185484 accessed 28 January 2023. 

SHP. 2013. Trust in the dock after waterslide blunder. 4 July. Available at https://www.shponline.co.uk/in-court/trust-in-the-dock-after-waterslide-blunder/ accessed 28 January 2023. 

The Press and Journal. 2013. Fine after boy injured on flumes. 5 July. Available at https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-press-and-journal-aberdeen-and-aberdeenshire/20130705/281719792171719 accessed 28 January 2023. 

Urquhart, F. 2013. Sport Aberdeen fined £8,000 over unsafe flume. The Scotsman, 4 July, 14:39. Available at https://www.scotsman.com/news/sport-aberdeen-fined-ps8000-over-unsafe-flume-1569041 accessed 28 January 2023. 

Citation. Jacklin, D. 2024. Incident Report: Josh Ritchie. Water Incident Research Hub, 28 January 2023; updated 15 September.