Fun Fair at the Oval – underaged workers?
The Rock O Plane dominates the Oval skyline
David Vane writes (Sep 2007)
I took my kids along to the Bohemia Village Fayre on Sunday, which seemed a very pleasant, very sociable event. However, my kids weren’t that engaged by it, so we went to check out the travelling funfair that was sited on the Oval for the week leading up to Sunday 12th. Happily, it was a little more complete than the last fair, but it did seem understaffed. Moreover, not only were several of the ride-minders in charge of more than one ride, a good number of them were under age. I let my oldest girl, who is four, have a go on one of the rides, which was being operated by a boy not much taller than she is.
I asked him if he was being paid for what he was doing, to which he replied ‘yes’. I then asked him his age, and expected him to give me a coached answer of ‘16’ or something like it. ‘Ten,’ he said, quite straightforwardly. He seemed to be in charge of two separate rides. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that this goes on, but it rather staggers me that a child of ten a) should be working at all, and b) should be in charge of dangerous machinery where safety of the public is a direct issue. Surely it’s illegal on both counts. the fair seemed to be the business of W. Davis, and it’s quite possible that some or all of the kids I saw working there are his own. While that may offer some explanation, it doesn’t make it all right.
David Vane, Linton Crescent.
Crazy nights 99p on all rides
Dracula on the Ghost Train
