Toddler dies at Ducketts Common fun fair

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Permalink Reply by John D on May 13, 2009 at 12:18

And a bunch of ghouls hanging on the fence, staring at nothing happening.
Sometimes I hate the human race.

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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on May 13, 2009 at 11:39

What a tragedy, it would be interesting to know what ride the little lad was on as most of them shouldn’t allow a child of his age to be on there. He would only be allowed on the very small roundabouts, which of course he could have fallen from.

Very sad news indeed.

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on May 13, 2009 at 14:32

Short of putting a leash on little boys, it is very hard to keep them from rushing after their heart's desire.

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Permalink Reply by John D on May 13, 2009 at 15:23

That's what parents do - they're called reins.

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Permalink Reply by jack63kids on May 15, 2009 at 8:27

The child concerned was in a bouncy castle where his father could not have reins on him. I do not know how the boy managed to leave that without being seen by his father and then rushed onto the tracks of another ride, however.

I expect a lot of people will be thinking he should have done more. There but for the grace of God go many of us. I've lost sight of my kids when they were very small, luckily nothing bad happened. That poor man will have to deal with his grief as well as guilt for the rest of his life. Marriages fail over less, he's likely to have to deal with that too if he and the boy's mother are together now.

Have to go with rahman's message below and send blessings to anyone concerned, family, friends and the people who run the fair, which has run without serious incident, apparently, for 150 years. Awful event for anyone concerned.

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Permalink Reply by matt on May 13, 2009 at 17:55

There are too many rides crammed into that small space on Ducketts. It not fit for purpose. Chestnuts, Downhills and Alexandra Parks (all nearby) have adequate space. Why is the council allowing Ducketts to be used?

The Friends of Ducketts Common could contact the council to express their concerns.

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Permalink Reply by Adam on May 14, 2009 at 9:52

This issue will be discussed at our meeting next Wednesday

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Permalink Reply by jack63kids on May 15, 2009 at 8:18

Adam,
I would have thought that the biggest issue with using Ducketts is that whichever gate you use to leave it, there is a road immediately on the other side. I'd be much more scared of kids running into the road personally, either eager to get to the fair, or when leaving after the excitement of the rides.

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Permalink Reply by rahman on May 13, 2009 at 20:23

It just takes a second to lose sight of a two year old. This fair has been running for 10 years without a problem - it initially seems to be a tragic accident. So sad. God bless the little boy and his family.

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