A mother and her three-year-old daughter have been injured after being “thrown” from a spinning tea machine at a popular amusement park.
Kate Davies and her daughter Poppy spent a lovely family day out playing teacup at Dreamland Margate in Kent.
However, just moments later horror struck them as the ride broke away from its base, throwing the two forward and crashing into the railings, as people screamed and ran to help.
The “traumatic” incident left Kate dizzy, with blurred vision and ugly cuts and bruises, while little Poppy suffered a blow to the head.
Kate’s eight-year-old son Freddie, who was in another teacup, also suffered a cut lip when he was shaken when the ride malfunctioned and was banned from the theme parks after witnessing the ordeal.
Kate Davies (pictured) suffered nasty cuts and briefly blurred vision after she and her three-year-old daughter Poppy were thrown from a teacup-shaped ride.
After the ride failed at Dreamland Margate, the little girl was left with a blow to the head, while her brother Freddie (bottom left) was banned from theme parks altogether.
Kate said: “It’s pretty horrific. It was pretty traumatic for my kids because we had gone there for a fun day out and all of a sudden all this happened.”
The 38-year-old teacher and her husband William took their two children to Dreamland last Wednesday for what they hoped would be a fun family day out.
The family headed for the teacups, with Kate and Poppy jumping into one teacup and Freddie into another.
When the operator asked if she would like to be spun around, little Poppy enthusiastically said yes.
“She was spinning the teacup every time we passed and the next thing I knew the whole teacup came off the base and where it was spinning it was thrown towards the railings of the promenade,” Kate said.
“I just remember him lunging forward and feeling a very strong pain in the back of my neck. I had my daughter next to me.
‘I could hear people screaming and I could hear my husband William.
‘He had turned around to put his jacket in our bag and then he heard all those screams.
“He could see that the vehicle had come apart, and then he got scared because he couldn’t see exactly what had happened to us initially, so he panicked.”
“I just remember him lunging forward and feeling this really sharp pain in the back of my head,” Katie said.
Dreamland called an ambulance for the family but dispatchers said it would be a long wait so William, 41, took his wife and children to QEQM Hospital.
Kate’s scratches and bruises after the incident at Dreamland Margate
Poppy was pulled out of the bowl as Dreamland staff and members of the public rushed to help.
Meanwhile, people surrounded Kate, asking if she was okay and if she could stand, as she felt dizzy and had a sharp pain in the back of her head.
“I remember the back of my head and my arm hurting a lot,” the mother of two said.
‘People asked me if I could stand up, but I felt very weak and dizzy.
“I said, ‘I don’t think I can,’ and then the vision in my right eye became very blurry.”
Dreamland called an ambulance for the family but dispatchers said it would be a long wait so William, 41, took his wife and children to QEQM Hospital.
All three were examined and then discharged.
Kate said: “It was actually very lucky we landed the way we did because we could have had our arms or legs caught in the railing, or the blow to the head could have been more severe or my daughter could have been trapped.”
She added that the staff that day were “very helpful and supportive” and offered free food and drinks.
Dreamland bosses have also invited the family back to the theme park, but everyone feels unsafe.
“People were asking me if I could stand up, but I felt very weak and dizzy,” Kate said.
Kate and her two children Freddie and Poppy were assessed in hospital and later discharged.
“We were thinking about booking Legoland but William now says he doesn’t want to go,” Katie said.
‘The last thing we want is to get into a situation where our family doesn’t want to go to any theme parks because before that my son loved going on rides.
‘I love those kinds of rides too, but they do put you off because if something as minor as teacups can go wrong and you have those kinds of injuries, it’s scary to think what could happen on something bigger.
‘We still haven’t had an explanation of what went wrong.
“We just got worried because we thought, ‘I don’t know if the attractions are being maintained properly.'”
A Dreamland Margate spokesperson said: ‘An incident occurred on Wednesday 31 July 2024 at the Cups and Saucers attraction, one of the younger visitor attractions at Dreamland Margate, Kent.
‘Standard Dreamland safety procedures were implemented, overseen by the park manager.
‘The family was examined by qualified first responders on site and immediately treated. Dreamland subsequently contacted the family.
‘The cups and saucers attraction has been repaired and certified safe for use and the family has been invited to return to Dreamland at a time of their choosing.
‘All attractions are independently certified by ADIPS. The safety and well-being of all Dreamland visitors is our top priority.’
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