Horrifying video footage has captured the moment a little boy was almost wiped out by a pirate ship ride after climbing over a fence and into the restricted zone beneath it.
Shocked onlookers can be heard shouting "there's a kid" before gasping and yelling in terror as the young child walks even closer to the giant swinging ship in Gulliver's World. The screams last for a few seconds until a man in the queue jumps over and drags the child away.
Footage shows the little boy sitting on one of the wooden cannons, before then standing up and going beneath the giant swinging boat packed full of passengers.. As the ride swings back down, he backs away slightly before a man jumps over the fence to grab him.
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It is thought the incident happened at around 3pm yesterday after the young boy climbed over the fence and was playing in the area under the ride. in the Warrington theme park. Gulliver's World have said staff responded 'quickly' and followed the correct procedures when reporting the incident.
Dad Andy Moore, from Manchester, was among those waiting in the queue with his child when he spotted the youngster playing in the gated area. He told the Manchester Evening News that the ride closed for a short while after the incident.
"I was stood in line with my young child and we were taking pics of each ride we went on, when this child climbed the fence and ran towards the ride," said Andy.
"He spent a while playing on the cannons while the pirate ship was in full swing. The staff member hadn’t seen at first but the queueing crowd had.
"The parent of the child was nowhere to be seen at first. Then the staff member saw what everyone was shouting at and stopped the ride.
"The child got very close to it and didn’t appear to realise the danger that was involved. A member of the public on the other side jumped over the fence to grab the child. I couldn’t as I didn’t want to leave my young child alone."
He added: "Thankfully there were no injuries. But clearly an issue when a young child of that age can easily climb the fence and enter the ride area. It could have been a lot worse."
Craig Clewes, resort director at Gulliver’s World, said: “We are aware of an incident in one of the ride enclosures at Gulliver’s World. Our staff responded quickly and followed our safety and reporting procedures.
“The safety of our customers and staff remains our number one priority.”
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