Ruling reserved over castle kick

Judgement in the case of a boy who was kicked in the head on a bouncy castle has been reserved at the High Court.

Sam Harris, now 13, of Spalding, Lincolnshire, had a broken skull and was left brain damaged after the accident in Strood, Kent, in 2005.

He claims Catherine and Timothy Perry, who hired the inflatable for their triplets' birthday party, are to blame.

They deny liability and blame Sam's father, David Harris, on the basis of his alleged lack of supervision.

The court heard on Thursday that the claim he was to blame for his son, who was then 11, being kicked was an "affront to common sense".

'Utterly unconvincing'

Sam was hurt when a taller 15-year-old boy caught the left side of his head with his heel while somersaulting on the castle.

Mr Harris's counsel, Rohan Pershad, told the judge that it was now agreed between the parties that Sam having the medical condition Asperger syndrome had no relevance whatsoever to the issues in the case.

He submitted that the remaining case against Mr Harris was "hollow and utterly unconvincing".

He said: "I say that the court should be slow to become involved in the parent and child relationship - not say that there is no duty but, if every action of a parent is to be scrutinised in the sterile surroundings of the courtroom, then we are going to end up in a crippled society."

Mr Harris, he added, was a sensible witness who had uppermost in his mind the safety of his son.

'Parents' responsibility'

He said Sam did not need constant supervision or direction and it was completely unreasonable to expect Mr Harris to have prevented the incident.

"The case against him is untenable. It is a case which is an affront to common sense and should be dismissed."

Graham Eklund QC, for the Perrys, acknowledged on their behalf that it was a very serious accident, which they wished had never happened, and they gave their best wishes to Sam.

"But, that doesn't mean they accept responsibility for this accident."

He argued that it was parents who had the primary responsibility for a child.

The judge reserved his ruling to a later unspecified date.