Seven of the eight children who were injured after a giant inflatable slide collapsed at a fairground have been discharged, police have said.

The eighth victim has been kept in hospital under observation, but their injuries are not believed to be significant.

Police had declared a major incident at Woking Park in Surrey after the children fell from the slide at about 7.30pm on Saturday.

An estimated 12,000 people had been gathered for a fireworks display organised by Woking District Rotary Club but after the incident, it was cancelled and the park was evacuated to allow the air ambulance to land.

Fireworks organiser: Crowds not an issue

The eight children injured were taken to major trauma centres, South East Coast Ambulance Service said.


A young married couple from Woking, who were taking their nine-month-old son to his first fireworks event, told Sky News they saw the slide collapse before "around 15 to 20 children" fell from it.

The husband, who did not wish to be named, said: "My wife and family were walking towards the slide at around 7.20pm and as we were approaching we saw the side [of the slide] began to buckle about half way or three-quarters of the way up.

"We heard kids screaming and then saw them begin to fall off the side.

"They all collapsed into a pile. We ran over to help.

"Some of them got up and ran away - we don't know but we are worried that they could have had head injuries."

Image: Police at the scene where a number of children were hurt. Pic: Andy Datson

A witness of the collapsed slide that injured eight children says that there seemed to be a lot of children on the attraction

The couple said that the remaining children may have been able to get up but they told them to stay still to avoid exacerbating any potential injuries.

As the husband called the ambulance, his first aid-trained sister-in-law tended to the children and his wife helped to find the children's parents.

The couple told Sky News they believe the slide buckled because too many children were climbing up to the top at the same time and they did not see anyone supervising numbers on the ride.

They both praised the efforts of the emergency services, saying they arrived quickly and that the high number of community police officers were able to help manage the situation.

Image: Woking Park was evacuated. Pic: Andy Datson

They said the scene was "very calm", adding: "It was awful, but it wasn't a disaster where everyone was screaming."

Andy Datson, 23, was at the funfair and told Sky News: "There were lots of kids on the floor next to the inflatable slide.

"I don't want to speculate but the only obvious thing that happened is it gave way on the side and they fell."

Mr Datson said he saw about 40 children on the top of the slide, which he thought was around 25ft to 30ft high, and that he was unable to see anyone supervising it.

"[The children] were doing what they liked, running and jumping when they wanted."

Speaking to Sky News from Woking Park, Adam Morris of Eagle Radio, who was hosting the fireworks event, described the mood after the incident as "very sombre and "very quiet".

Image: A police photographer looks at the side of the inflatable slide

He said that after he made the announcement for people to evacuate they did so quickly and calmly.

One of the organisers, Michael Holden, from Woking District Rotary Club, said they were "very distressed and upset" by what had happened, adding that their thoughts were "very much with the children affected and their families".

He said that, although it was "too early to speculate" on the cause, the organisation was co-operating with police.

"I don't think crowds were an issue tonight, merely the way that particular ride was operated."

Anne Cantelo, who was with her six-year-old granddaughter, said: "An announcement came over at 7.50pm, the fireworks were due to start at 8pm and we were told to evacuate due to a major incident.

"The inflatable was still up so it could not have collapsed. There are few fairground rides here for 12,000 people. There were a lot of children on the rides and it was very difficult for parents to supervise them.

"This ride is very tall, 20ft to 30ft high so if children fell from the top, it's terrible."

The organisers have pledged to conduct "a full review" into the incident and apologised for the "for the short notice cancellation of the Fireworks Extravaganza, caused by a serious accident which occurred in the funfair area during the build up".

Some attendees were criticised for asking for a refund on their tickets within hours of the slide's collapse.

Woking Park is likely to remain closed on Sunday.

The Health and Safety Executive is going to investigate.