'Christmas ruined' for boy, 5, whose finger was 'skated over' on ice rink
7 December 2019, 09:51
A 5-year-old boy has lost part of his finger and needs surgery after it was "skated over" on an ice rink in Nottingham.
The unnamed boy was on a trip to Winter Wonderland on Tuesday when the horrific accident happened.
He was using one of the penguin skating aids, but fell onto the ice and another person "skated over" his outstretched hand.
The child's father said his son's Christmas is "ruined" and the family have been "traumatised".
Speaking about the incident, he said his son was "screaming in pain" and is now calling for there to be changes to be made to ensure this never happens again.
He told NottinghamshireLive: "I want there to be seatbelts on the penguins to stop kids falling off them so this never happens again.
"I did not think it was safe.
"There were around 100 people on the ice that night and there could be accidents from other children falling."
Mellors Group, who operate Nottingham's Winter Wonderland said the person in charge of the rink has beein operation ice rinks for 15 years and has "never come across an incident of this nature before".
Director of the group Edward Mellors said safety is "really important" and the company uses the "best practice guidelines for the operation of outdoor rinks."
He added: "This was an unfortunate and very unusual accident and we are really sorry that the boy was hurt.
"There are always marshals on the ice and as soon as the accident happened, two trained first aiders were immediately with the boy and an ambulance was called.
"The penguins are stable and designed to be skating aids for children to use as well as adults who can push young children around the rink whilst at the same time giving the children the opportunity to experience what it is like to skate as they are wearing skates too which are on the ice.
"We would like to wish him a speedy recovery."
