Theme park charged after staff death

Mr Matthews died in hospital after the accident in 2001

The owners of a theme park in Lancashire have been charged with breaching health and safety laws after the death of an employee.

Charges were laid after an inquest jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure on 59-year-old Harold Matthews of Wigan.

Mr Matthews died after being hit by a rollercoaster-type ride as he stood by the side of it, in October 2001.

Prime Resorts, which owns Camelot, was due to appear before magistrates in Leyland on Wednesday.

Looper ride

The company is accused of failing to ensure the safety at work of employees and failing to make a suitable assessment of risks to health and safety of workers.

Mr Matthews, of Merton Road, Highfield, died after being taken to hospital, following the accident on 22 October, 2001.

He suffered fatal injuries as he stood by the side of the Gauntlet ride at the park in Charnock Richard, Chorley and was pronounced dead at Preston Royal Hospital.

The inquest in to Mr Matthews' death heard he was a "conscientious engineer", and had been greasing the track after problems with the Gauntlet when the accident happened.

The Gauntlet ride is a "looper" type ride, which replaced the Tower of Terror ride at the park in May 2001, after it was destroyed by fire.

Camelot Theme Park was created in April 1984, before Granada Group plc bought the company in February 1986.

Following a management buyout in June 1998, it passed to Prime Resorts Limited, which now owns Camelot Theme Park and the Park Hall Hotel leisure and conference centre.