Children injured at indoor playgrounds

A 10-year-old boy who fractured his skull at Napier's Inflatable World is the second casualty at the children's amusement franchise in a week.

Zaybein Wathey was playing on a bouncy castle when he fractured the back of his head and temple after he fell down a hole at the indoor playground at Thames St in Pandora last Tuesday.

Hawke's Bay Today understands he landed head first on to concrete.

St John ambulance medics attended the scene before he started having seizures and was flown to Starship Hospital in Auckland.

The incident happened just three days after an Auckland dad watched in horror as his son was sucked under a giant bouncy castle at Inflatable World in Auckland.

Brendon Rambaud was at the Glenfield centre with his wife filming his son Deacon (4) when their child disappeared below the castle.

"I was videoing him and he bounced on to a ball and then came back and went through the lining," Mr Rambaud said.

He posted the video on Facebook as a warning to parents - it had 1,420,518 views last night.

Zaybein's mother, Hayley Wathey, whose family was visiting Napier from Upper Hutt, said she wanted the centre closed until it was improved.

She said the ordeal had been "absolutely devastating".

"He wakes up for two minutes at a time then falls back to sleep," Mrs Wathey said. "He's a very active child so it's hard to see him like this."

Ms Wathey said it was "unbelievable" the accident came within days of the Auckland incident. Zaybein's father Paul was happy with the public response but "disgusted" by the staff, who he claimed "had no idea what they were doing".

The family said Zaybein was a promising rugby player and his playing future was now in jeopardy.

A staff member at the centre in Napier refused to comment yesterday and Inflatable World director Gary Adamson would not respond to requests for comment.

Earlier, he spoke about the Auckland incident, saying he regretted that Deacon had a bad experience but was satisfied safety measures at the centre were sufficient.

The company's website states that "all participants use the equipment at their own risk".

WorkSafe New Zealand spokesman Sam Young told Hawke's Bay Today that it was aware of the Napier incident and was making inquiries to determine whether to investigate.

Mrs Wathey, who is still in Starship with her son, has yet to hear from the company.

"No apology, just a refund. We don't want a refund. We want these kids to be safe," she said.

"My kid will never be the same again. It's going to be a long recovery."

- Hawke's Bay Today

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