Major warning for parents after girl, 8, breaks her neck on UK playground’s zipline in horror fall during Easter hols
AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl has broken her neck on a playground zipline after a horror fall as her devastated parents speak out.
Lois Crook, eight, was rushed to a London hospital after suffering a serious neck fracture at Victoria Park in Ashford, Kent.
Her parents, Emma and Daniel Crook, from Smeeth, say the zipline at Victoria Park travels too fast.
The equipment, which was installed three years ago as part of a £5m revamp, reportedly flung their daughter as much as ten feet into the air.
Mrs Crook, who works alongside her husband for Kingsfords Solicitors in Ashford, had taken Lois and son Elliot, 10, to the council-owned park after school, as they had done many times before.
However this time the play date ended with the family rushing to hospital.
Mum Emma Crook, 41, said: “I just saw Lois coming down the zipline and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s going quite fast.’
“Then she hit the bumper, and the bottom of it swung up – she just flew off and arced through the air.
“She landed headfirst on the grass. She must have been around 10 feet in the air.”
Despite Lois being conscious and crying after her fall, Mrs Crook says she immediately sensed something more serious was wrong.
“She was talking at first, but by the time we got to Orbital Park, she stopped speaking to me and just said, ‘My neck hurts and I feel sick.’ “That’s when I really started to panic.”
Lois was initially taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where trauma staff quickly suspected a fracture and fastened her neck in blocks to prevent any movement.
She later underwent CT and MRI scans, which confirmed a C2 fracture to the peg on her second vertebra.
This type of injury – often referred to as a hangman’s fracture – is considered serious due to its location at the top of the spine.
The terrified youngster has had a custom halo brace screwed into her skull but doctors say it’s a miracle her spinal cord was not damaged.
“The peg on the C2 vertebra had broken,” 42-year-old Mr Crook said. “That’s the part that allows your head to move.
“The consultant said it was the kind of injury you’d expect from a car crash, not something you’d normally see from a zipline accident at a playground.”
Because the William Harvey Hospital does not have paediatric halo braces, Lois had to remain in her neck blocks for more than 15 hours before being transferred to King’s College Hospital in London the following morning.
She spent a week at King’s, where a custom-made halo brace was surgically fitted using four pins that were screwed into her skull – two at the front and two at the back.
The brace has to be tightened every 48 hours after fitting and checked regularly to avoid complications.
“It was terrifying,” Mrs Crook admitted. “I had no idea what a halo brace even was. “Then a nurse showed me a photo on Google. It was quite shocking to see.”
Despite the trauma, Lois’s parents praised the care they received at both hospitals.
“The staff were fantastic,” Mr Crook said.
“We were so lucky there was no spinal cord damage, and the team at King’s had a clear plan from the moment we arrived.”
Mrs Crook added that, after posting on a community Facebook group about their daughter’s accident, other parents got in touch saying their children had also required hospital visits after falling from the same zipwire.
“My husband contacted the council and put something up on Facebook,” she explained.
“Other parents commented about their children being injured in recent weeks on the same zipline; broken arms, concussions and A&E admissions.
“I went there the other day and a little girl absolutely flew. Is it safe? Will other children end up injured?
“We just want to raise awareness. I’m not saying all zipwires are like that.
“But so many have said to me since that this one is absolutely lethal. There are a lot of accidents on this particular zipline. It’s particularly fast.
“The Council say it’s a ‘low-risk’ piece of apparatus. We don’t want it taken down, we just think it needs tweaking.”
One commenter on Facebook agreed that the zipline could be “ferocious”, saying: “My daughter flew off it a few weeks ago and ended up in A&E with concussion.”
Another mum said: “I didn’t realise how fast this zipline was…
“My little boy came flying off it too and he was only let go towards the end of the line.
“It picks up speed really fast. Luckily he held on and only fell a short distance resulting in his face being grazed but it could have been a lot worse.”
Another local wrote: “It does seem to be a fairly fast zipwire. I ran to pick up a toddler that literally flew off of this one.
“Once she hit the end of the wire it flung her off. She went from mid-air and slammed the floor.”
Lois is now back at home but has to deal with the constant pain of her cumbersome brace, which she has to wear for at least 12 weeks and struggles to sleep with it.
She faces a host of challenges at home, including pain, disrupted sleep and difficulty walking.
The eight-year-old is assisted when bathing, getting dressed and even getting up from chairs.
She can also only walk short distances unaided and has to use a wheelchair for longer journeys.
Lois a pupil at Brook Community Primary School, has remained remarkably positive throughout her ordeal, but conceded that her fall from the zipline had left her with several difficulties.
“It’s ruined all my Easter holidays,” the eight-year-old said. “The pins in my head really hurt to start with, but the pain isn’t too bad now. It can just be hard to get to sleep at night.
“I’m really missing going to school and seeing my friends, but we are planning a big party for when I am all better.”
The family have to return to London for regular check-ups. Last week, a loose nut on the brace prompted an urgent trip back to King’s.
“Because her head can’t move at all, she’s really top-heavy and vulnerable to falling,” Mrs Crook added.
“Physio has helped a bit, but she still struggles.
“It’s going to be a long journey ahead, but we are just taking each day as it comes.”
Mr and Mrs Crook say they now want to raise awareness about the risks posed by playground ziplines like the one at Victoria Park and hope no other family has to go through what they have.
“It’s too dangerous,” Mrs Crook said. “The council need to put something in place so that the zipline doesn’t travel at such high speeds.
“We just don’t want to see anyone else go through this.”
Other parents have also reported their children having suffered broken arms and concussions after falling from the same zipline – which remains in use.
Ashford Borough Council (ABC) confirmed an investigation into the incident at the end of last month (27/03) is underway.
Meanwhile, Lois’ parents say they’re simply grateful their young daughter’s injuries weren’t more serious.
However, with the zipline still in use, they worry other children could suffer similar accidents.
A spokesperson for ABC, which delivered the revamp of the park with the help of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are aware of an incident involving a child at Victoria Park.
“However, we are unable to provide a comment whilst investigations are ongoing.”
The Sun has reached out to Ashford Borough Council for a comment.