A man has recalled the surreal moment he tried to catch a boy who was catapulted into the air inside an inflatable zorb ball.
Paul Holmes screamed "there's a boy in the sky" as he watched the inflatable fly '20 meters' into the air at Southport Food and Drink Festival on Sunday. The 43-year-old, from Southport, rushed to help the boy after watching the freak accident unfold at Victoria Park.
Merseyside Police has confirmed that a nine-year-old boy was seriously injured at the festival over the weekend and remains in hospital today. The force is now investigating the cause of the incident amid reports that the zorb was blown off the water and onto the grass by a gust of wind.
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Paul has spoken to the Liverpool Echo about how he ripped the ball open to free the boy before running into a marquee to ask for help. "We were just stood next to the zorb pit looking for something to eat. There was a breeze quite quick and I just said 'oh that breeze is nice'," he recalled.
"In my peripheral vision I saw two of the zorb balls go up into the sky and I just screamed at the top of my voice 'there's a kid in one of those balls someone catch him'," Paul said. "The minute I shouted 'there's a boy in the sky' the staff at the inflatable place were quick to get all of the kids out of the remaining balls in the pit."
Paul said one of the zorbs was "probably 15 to 20 metres in the sky easily". He said: "The wind just whipped it up into the sky. It was like a bit of a freak weather phenomenon."
Paul said he was running around trying to work out where the ball was going to land in a bid to catch it, but he missed it due to a gust of wind. "Me and another gentleman were just in a mad panic trying to rip open the zorb to try and get to the little boy," he said. "Everyone wants to help naturally, I just screamed to everyone 'do not move this boy.'"
Paul said he then ran onto a nearby stage where a singer was performing to get someone to call for help. "I stopped them straight away and said someone shout for help we need urgent medical attention, there's been a major incident around the back," he told the Echo.
He added: "My thoughts go out to the parents of the little boy." Paul said one of the staff members from the inflatable business was in tears following the incident. "People seem to be forgetting the owner of the inflatable business - they must be going through absolute hell with this," he added.
North West Ambulance Service said an ambulance, senior clinician and an air ambulance were called to the scene at 1.56pm. The nine-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital with multiple serious injuries. Merseyside Police said the child inside the second zorb ball to get lifted into the air was unharmed.
A statement from police on Sunday said: “We are appealing for information after a child was seriously injured today in Southport.
“At around 2pm on Sunday June 4, it was reported that a nine-year-old boy had sustained significant injuries. The boy was inside an inflatable zorb ball on a lake, which was unexpectedly raised into the air before it landed on the grass.
“A second zorb ball containing another child was also raised at the same time, but thankfully this child was unharmed. The nine-year-old was taken to hospital by air ambulance for treatment to his injuries. He remains in hospital at this time.
“We are now appealing for anyone who may have captured images or videos of the incident to please get in touch to help us establish the circumstances of what happened.”
Anyone with such footage is asked to send it via this link and information can be reported via direct message @MerPolCC or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 quoting reference 596.
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