Safety investigators are trying to establish what caused a giant fairground inflatable slide to collapse at a fireworks display in Surrey, injuring eight children. Seven of the children, all under 16, were released from hospital within hours of the incident, which happened at about 7.30pm on Saturday at Woking Park.

One child remained under observation in hospital, but his injuries were not thought to be significant. Surrey police initially described the children’s injuries as “potentially serious” and they were taken to major trauma centres in London for treatment.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating what happened at the funfair, which remained behind a police cordon on Sunday. The fireworks display was cancelled.

Police investigators with cameras inspected other attractions, including a crooked house and a Ferris wheel. HSE inspectors were also in attendance, with a spokeswoman confirming that “initial inquiries” were being made.

The organiser of the cancelled fireworks display, Michael Holden of Woking District Rotary Club, said about 5,000 people were in the park when the children were injured. “We don’t still know yet what exactly happened, but eight children appear to have come off near the top of the slide and landed on the floor alongside it,” he said.

Police have appealed for anyone with footage of the incident to contact them.



Andy Datson, a 23-year-old journalist from Guildford, said he saw up to 40 children playing on the “flimsy” slide, which he estimated was about 10 metres (30ft) tall at its highest point. “We had been walking past the slide earlier in the night and said it looked unsafe. It looked pretty flimsy, to say the least,” he said.

“There were far too many kids on it. It did not look as if there was an adult at the top of the slide and these kids were no more than 10 years old. It didn’t look like it could hold that many people.”