Ava-May Littleboy died after an inflating trampoline she was on exploded on a beach in Norfolk

The first pictures have emerged of a three-year-old girl who was killed after being thrown 20ft in the air from an exploding inflatable trampoline yesterday.

Ava-May Littleboy, who later died in hospital, was seen rocketing into the air and flying back down after witnesses heard the sound of an 'explosion' in Gorleston, Norfolk.

Her mother, Chloe Littleboy, 25, had taken her daughter to the beach with family members including her sister who was nearby when tragedy struck.

The family paid tribute to Ava-May, describing her as 'the little girl that loved life.'

In a statement released by Norfolk Police, they said: 'She was not your ordinary little girl, as anyone she met, she would leave a lasting impression on.

'Anyone that met her would not want to forget her.

'Her infectious laugh and smile could light up even the darkest of rooms.

'She was the little girl that loved life.

The family released this image of three-year-old Ava-May holding flowers

Abbie Littleboy posted this picture with her niece and told her friends her family would 'like to build a memorial bench for our little Ava'

Family and friends of the little girl have paid tribute to her and set up a JustGiving page asking for donations for a park bench in her honour.

Her aunt, Laura Reid, 28, said 'I will love you always and forever. Sleep tight my little angel. My everything my princess! My heart is broken'.

People have sent well-wishes and donations to the family online.

One wrote: 'So Tragic. Thoughts and prays for the family and all affected. Life is so fragile and precious, every moment should be valued and treasured. God rest your soul darling child.'

Her other aunt, Abbie Littleboy, 21, said: 'Me and our family would like to build a memorial bench for our little Ava, please take a read of our story and help raise money for our beautiful angel'

Little Ava-May's aunts posted tributes to their niece as they raised funds for a bench in her honour

Families have spoken of their horror as they watched bystanders attempting to catch the girl before paramedics and a lifeguard attempted to her.

The child was visiting the area from Suffolk in the heatwave.

Dozens of floral tributes and teddy bears have been left at the scene today after mourners turned up to pay their respects to the girl and her family.

The owner of the play equipment, Curt Johnson also paid tribute.

He told the BBC: 'We are in complete shock and send our deepest condolences to the family.

'We are in bits and totally devastated, we can't sleep, can't eat, feel sick to the core.'

Tributes have been laid at the scene today after a girl died on Gorleston beach in Norfolk

Witnesses have described the horror as it unfolded on the beach near Great Yarmouth

Police revealed on Monday the girl was the only person on the trampoline at the time.

She was thrown into the air when the giant inflatable appeared to explode.

Ava-May had been playing on the trampoline in a section of the beach called Bounce About after being taken over by one of her aunts.

The area also has an inflatable slide, traditional trampolines and a rodeo ride.

A witness who returned to the scene described seeing the girl's mother screaming for help after watching her daughter get thrown from the trampoline.

However, police later said it was probably the girl's aunt who was there at the time, while her mother was further along the beach.

The 91-year-old man, who asked not to be named, said: 'If you put two 6ft people on top of each other she still would have flown way above them.

'She shot way up into the air - easily more than 20ft and landed in the sand. The mother ran up just screaming and crying for help. The people acted together.

'One girl called the police and people were clearing the path. The explosion was like a big gun. I was in the Navy and I can tell you that it was an enormous bang.'

He described the public's response to the incident as 'excellent', adding: 'The lifeguard nearby was great. He straight away left the chair and came across.

'One girl gave her mouth to mouth and pressure CPR. The people were good and stayed back and kept their distance.'

Zoe Dye, 32, was just 20 metres away from the trampoline playing with her 11-year-old daughter Tiffany when the explosion occurred.

She said: 'Literally there were screams from everyone on the beach and it was almost like slow motion.

The scene on Gorleston beach today after the girl died after being thrown from the inflatable

A police cordon around the Bounce About play area where the young girl died yesterday

'When the little girl was in the air no one could have done anything but people jumped up to try and catch her but she just dropped.

'It was everyone's instinct just to try and catch her. My little girl described what she saw as something from a horror film and she is very upset.

'But it was the case of everyone on the beach just ran. People were over there, people were helping, people were trying to get defibrillators and nobody could do anymore than they did. It was brilliant that everyone just pulled together.

'The little girl was tiny. I know that she was three but she looked younger than that.'

The hole in the ground remains where Ms Dye and Tiffany were digging on the beach.

Ms Dye added: 'I had just taken a photo of my little girl who was digging that hole up. We were just playing and having a good day.

'She had a week away at school so I thought I would bring her down for a day at the beach to play about and the massive explosion happened.

'The seconds to follow were just horrific. I called an ambulance and so did many others. The emergency services were brilliant and were here in minutes. The lifeguard too- he did not stop and did absolutely everything that he could.

Several ambulances were rushed to Gorleston beach after the incident unfolded

Flowers were left at the beach where the small child died in the inflatable incident

One woman, Morrene Allen who bought flowers and left a note at the scene, said: 'I have 16 grandchildren who I love very much and I know what it is like to lose a child.

'It must be absolutely awful for the parents. That is all I can say at the moment or I will cry.'

Police had said the girl died on a 'bouncy castle' but a rentals firm unconnected to the incident have described it as an 'inflatable trampoline'.

Sara Robinson, of Cribs and Bibs Group, a company not believed to be connected to the incident said: 'Cribs and Bibs inflatables would like to send our heart felt and deepest sympathy to the family of the little girl who tragically lost her life.

She said: 'Whilst I don't want to speculate on yesterday's events without knowing the full facts we must point out this did not happen on a bouncy castle.

'It was a sealed inflatable trampoline which means a machine is used to fill with air and a plug inserted to hold the air like a giant balloon.

'It is impossible for this to happen on an inflatable with constant airflow as the seams allow air to escape.'

The inflatables are pictured earlier this week on the packed beach at Gorleston, Norfolk

Police at the scene where the girl died after being thrown from the inflatable at Gorleston

Supt Roger Wiltshire, the Great Yarmouth district commander for Norfolk Police, described the death of the girl as 'an unspeakable tragedy'.

He said: 'The trampoline was designed just for one person to use and she was the only person there at the time. As far as I understand her mother was watching nearby,

'I am a dad myself and I cannot imagine what the family are going through. You go to a place like Gorleston for a day out and then this happens.'

He added that the girl's family were being comforted by specially trained family liaison officers.

Other parents have spoken of their horror after witnessing the child being flung from the inflatable on the beach and later dying.

Witnesses described hearing 'the most enormous bang' and saw the girl 'catapulted' into the air before emergency services tried desperately to keep her alive with CPR.

Kayla-Ann Weaver, who was sitting only metres away from the accident, said: 'I cannot believe what I just witnessed on Gorleston beach. Never ever will I let my girls on a bouncy castle ever. My thoughts are with the little girls family.

Police officers stand in front of the deflated inflatable on a packed beach in Norfolk

The exploded inflatable lies flat on the beach following the tragedy yesterday morning

'I was right next to it the girls wanted to go on it I said no. I was sat next to it behind the barrier and I just heard a big bang and I turn around and a little girl in pink flew up and back down.

'They did CPR on her straight away. She looked a lot younger than four years old. It is terrible. Cherish every moment you never know what could happen in a blink of an eye.'

Karen Sell, who was leaving the beach at the time, said: '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.'

The inflatable (pictured) was 'bouncier than normal' according to witnesses on the beach

The child was taken to the James Paget Hospital, where she died.

Temperatures reached 23C (73F) at the tourist attraction, three miles from Great Yarmouth, as families made the most of the heatwave.

Owner Curt Johnson, 47, who was not present at the time of the tragedy, said the inflatable may have exploded in the heat.

'It is very upsetting,' Mr Johnson added.

'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.'

A joint investigation between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), local authority and police has been launched into the circumstances around the incident.

The East of England Ambulance Service said it received more than a dozen calls about the incident.

A spokesman said: 'We attended the incident this morning at Gorleston beach, involving a patient using inflatable equipment.

'More than a dozen calls were received at just after 11am, and several people at the scene including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were providing assistance to the patient.

Police were on the scene at Gorleston Beach after the child was fatally injured

A police cordon around the Bounce About play area in Gorleston where the child died

Fencing around the play area with beachgoers continuing to enjoy the sunny day in Norfolk

'Several of our teams were dispatched, with the first on scene in four minutes. The young female was seriously injured and in cardiac arrest on our arrival, and was conveyed to James Paget Hospital.

Sadly, despite all the of the efforts and interventions, she was pronounced deceased.

'We would like to thank everyone who rushed to respond the young patient, and did everything possible to give her treatment and care. Our thoughts are with the family at this time.'

Carl Smith, deputy leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: 'This is a tragic and shocking incident and our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends at this sad time.

'Environmental Services officers from Great Yarmouth Borough Council are currently working with the Health & Safety Executive to support the police with their investigation.

'Until we know what has caused this tragic incident we are unable to comment further but we will provide every possible support to the police who are leading the investigation and as a precautionary measure, we are investigating all other similar equipment on the beaches in our borough.

'As the police are currently leading this investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.'

The incident is the latest in which a fun day out with giant inflatables has turned to tragedy.

Married fairground workers William Thurston, 29, and Shelby Thurston, 26 - who were responsible for the 'entirely preventable' death of a seven-year-old girl who was blown away in a bouncy castle they did not properly secure - were jailed for three years in June.

Summer Grant was killed after a gust of wind lifted the inflatable from its moorings and sent it 'cartwheeling' 300 metres down a hill at an Easter fair in Harlow, Essex, a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court had heard.

The couple, of Whitecross Road, Wilburton, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, were both found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence and of a health and safety offence following the incident on March 26 2016.

An inquest jury in May 2010 ruled the deaths of two County Durham women, who were killed when an inflatable artwork blew away, were accidental.

Elizabeth Anne Collings, 68, and Claire Furmedge, 38, died after the Dreamspace artwork blew free in Chester-le-Street in July 2006.

The inflatable reportedly flung the three-year-old around 20 feet in the air

The inflatable after it exploded and 'catapulted' the young girl 20ft into the air

Summer's grandmother Rachel Chamberlain led tributes to the young victim who died on Sunday, saying: 'It's only two weeks ago that the people responsible for my granddaughter Summer's death were jailed and I hoped with all my heart that this would never happen again!

'Things must change! My heart bleeds for this family, devastating!'

Others took to Facebook to pay their respects to the young girl, who has not yet been named.

Ryan Griffin wrote: 'The bouncing castle exploded while she was on there she catapulted like 20 foot in the air.

'Keep your kids off bouncing castles people they are not safe!! Thoughts are with all there (sic) family RIP little one X'

The huge walk-in structure - half the size of a football pitch - took off in a gust of wind with 20 visitors inside.

Ms Furmedge, from Chester-le-Street, and Ms Collings, from Seaham, died from injuries suffered when they fell from the artwork. Several others were badly hurt.

The inquest heard there were no detailed discussions about how the structure would be fixed to the ground.

Politicians are now calling for a bouncy castle ban to prevent further deaths.

Pictured: A police cordon at Gorleston beach in Norfolk shortly after a young girl was killed

More than a dozen calls were made to police by panicked bystanders just after 11am yesterday

Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP for Harlow, Essex - where seven-year-old Summer Grant was killed when a bouncy castle blew free from its moorings in 2016 - wants politicians to consider a temporary ban.

He tweeted on Sunday evening: '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.'

Mr Halfon has written to the speaker of the House of Commons requesting an urgent question on the matter on Monday.

Brandon Lewis, Conservative MP for Great Yarmouth, tweeted: 'Absolutely tragic, thoughts are with family & friends, just so sad.'

A joint investigation between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), local authority and police has been launched.

The Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII), which accredits inspectors of inflatable play equipment, and industry inspection scheme PIPA released a joint statement today.

It said: '[We] are saddened by the tragic death of a girl on 1 July at Gorleston beach in Norfolk on what is believed to be an inflatable trampoline and those accredited to these two bodies extend their sincere condolences to her family.'

The statement added: 'It would be inappropriate to comment until the facts of this tragic incident are known but the RPII and PIPA offer their full support to the Health & Safety Executive, Police and other authorities in their investigations.'