Girl among four injured after funfair ride ‘malfunctions’

Four people, including an 11-year-old girl, were taken to hospital after a funfair ride is believed to have malfunctioned at a country show in Lambeth, south London, officials said.

The incident happened in Brockwell Park at around 18:20 BST, with emergency services arriving shortly afterwards, according to Lambeth Council.

“The area around the race is safe and the funfair has been closed,” the council said in a statement.

An investigation has been launched to “determine the cause of the failure”, the council added.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Lambeth Metropolitan Police said the other people injured were a man and woman in their 40s and a man in his 50s.

The Met added that none of the injured were in a life-threatening condition.

Earlier, police told X that no one had been caught in the race.

Cordons are in place and the Health and Safety Executive will be informed, police said.

Extra safety checks are being carried out on all rides and attractions at the show, Lambeth Council said.

The incident comes on the 50th anniversary of the Lambeth Country Show, which is one of “Britain’s biggest free family festivals”, according to its website.

Brockwell Park is a popular green space near Brixton in South London.

A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said four ambulance crews had been deployed along with members of its high-risk area response team.

An air ambulance was also dispatched to the scene, the spokesman said.

All four people injured after the ride apparently malfunctioned were taken to “major trauma centers,” they added.