Girl killed after jumping castle she was in blows away

A Cambridgeshire couple William, 29, and Shelby, 26, Thurston have been jailed for three years for manslaughter by gross negligence after Summer Grant, 7, died when the inflatable circus dome they were manning at a fair blew away with her inside.

The late Summer Grant (7), Image: AFP

The fairground workers were also found guilty of a health and safety offence for failing to monitor weather conditions and not adequately securing the jumping castle. The 12-month jail sentence they were given for this offence will run concurrently.

Heartbreaking evidence was given by the girl’s father, Lee, during the trial about hearing his daughter scream as a strong gust of wind ripped the circus dome from the ground.

William and Shelby Thurston/Essex Police

In vain, he desperately gave chase shouting: “My daughter’s in there,” as the inflatable cartwheeled above the ground for 300 metres before coming to rest against a tree at the end of the park.

Summer was seriously injured and died shortly afterwards in hospital.

The tragedy happened during a family outing to an Easter fair in a park in Harlow, Essex, on March 26, 2016.

While passing the sentence, the judge said the couple “took the most monumental risk with children’s lives by continuing to allow children on the bouncy castle” after they decided to close the big slide due to the overcast, intermittently rainy and windy weather conditions.

“It does not bear thinking about what that little girl went through inside that bouncy castle,” the judge said.

Summer’s father issued the following statement after the sentencing: “When Summer died, I felt as if I died too. I felt as if I had nothing to live for because she was my beautiful angel.”

He added that had it not been for his family, “I would have been selfish and taken my own life to be with her”.

– AFP