Ava-May Littleboy: Burst inflatable first of its kind owned by park

An inflatable trampoline that exploded, throwing a three-year-old girl to her death, was a type previously unused by its owners, an inquest has heard.

Ava-May Littleboy was on the inflatable when it burst on Gorleston beach, Norfolk, on 1 July 2018.

Witnesses said the three-year-old was sent higher than the height of a house before landing on her face. She died in hospital.

The inquest in Norwich heard the trampoline had been shipped from China.

Ava-May, from Lower Somersham, Suffolk, died of a head injury.

Earlier, the inquest heard that the trampoline appeared to be "overfilled" and funfair boss Giselle Johnson had remarked it had "a lot of air".

Mrs Johnson, director of Johnsons Funfair, trading as Bounce About, was asked if her husband, Curt, felt "ripped off with the quality of the equipment" he received in July 2017, and if there had previously been quality issues with their Chinese supplier.

Norfolk's senior coroner Jacqueline Lake had warned Mrs Johnson she could incriminate herself with her answers, and she declined to comment.

The hearing was told the trampoline was one of two sealed-unit inflatables her husband had bought.

These had plugs and were not inflated by continuously-running fans like their other inflatables, the jury inquest heard.

They had also previously used "traditional" fabric-and-spring trampolines.

The equipment had been inspected five days before the explosion, but a report noted not all tie-downs were being used on four items, including the inflatable trampoline.

Asked if the inspector mentioned this during his visit, she said: "He inspected everything and gave me the go-ahead.

"Do you think I'm crazy? To open the site to cause any problems or hurt anybody playing on those toys?"

She said she paid inspectors to "tell me what's safe and what's not".

The trampoline "exploded, it didn't fly", she said.

The jury earlier heard Mrs Johnson asked which pieces of equipment two child workers - referred to as Mr A and Miss B - had helped set up.

She declined to answer this question, and also whether it was Mr A's "responsibility" to let her know when the trampoline should have its fan turned off.

In a statement after the incident, Mrs Johnson said Miss B "couldn't explain why" she allowed Ava-May on to the inflatable while it was connected to the fan as she "knew it should never be done".

Mrs Johnson said Miss B visited her to get her wages in the following days and they had cried together.

The inquest continues.