News

Father furious after teens thrown from ride at fairground

THE father of a schoolboy who was thrown from a fairground ride with his friends when it came off its hinges last night said his son "could have been killed".

Noel Hamill said he was furious that his teenage son had been in danger at Murray's funfair in Portadown and he hit out at staff for sending him home with £5.

Finbar (13) and his 12-year-old friends Adam McBroom and Paul Flynn had gone to the fairground at Ballyoran Hill on Saturday night and paid £4 each for a ride on the Rock 'n' Rolla.

But their night of thrills turned to horror as the metal-caged wheel left the track and hurtled out of control with the three terrified boys inside.

The amusement park was packed with people at the time.

Eyewitnesses looked on in horror as the caged wheel eventually ended up on its side with the youngsters trapped inside.

The family only found out about the incident when one of the boy's parents left him home.

His son later spent the night in A&E undergoing tests including a brain scan.

Mr Hamill said he was not happy at the way Finbar was treated immediately after the accident and said an ambulance should have been called.

"I would have been happy enough if they had brought Finbar home and explained what had happened," he said last night.