A FAIRGROUND accident in which three teenagers narrowly cheated death was a disaster waiting to happen, a court was told yesterday.

The terrified youngsters were thrown ten metres into the air when a ride at Hartlepool broke free during a carnival at the town's Headland.

A trial at Teesside Crown Court was told how travelling showman Gilbert Findlay Jnr, 34, failed to carry out proper safety checks on his waltzer-style ride, the Ultimate Buzz.

Tony Hawks, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), told the jury that the three local youngsters, Stacey Moorhead, David Mole and Paul Wilkinson were extremely lucky to survive the crash.

After getting into one of the ride's 20 cars, the trio described their terror as their car broke free when the ride hit top speed.

Mr Hawks read out a witness statement by David Mole, who was 14 at the time of the accident in August 2000. It said: "As it came round I suddenly saw the front end of the car lift up, then I blanked out."

Mr Hawks said: "Because of the state of the fixings that held the car to its track, it simply gave way and the car, with those three unfortunate teenagers, took off and flew through the air.

"It flew between seven and ten metres before simply crashing into the ground."

All three were injured, with David hospitalised for a week with a broken collarbone and Stacey kept in intensive care for two days with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a fractured collarbone.

The court was told an HSE investigation found that most of the cars were attached to the ride with fixings that had undergone a series of "botched" repairs.

Mr Hawks said: "This was not a freak accident, this particular car was in a condition that was typical with all the cars on the ride."

Mr Findlay Jnr, from Glasgow, pleads not guilty to a charge of failing to ensure safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Another man, ride inspector Brian Black, 54, from West Lothian, Scotland, had earlier pleaded guilty to the same charge and will be sentenced later this week. He has admitted issuing a safety certificate after failing to spot the dangerous state of many of the fixings in June of 2000.

Mr Hawks said: "The ride was inherently dangerous because the state of the repairs had reached such deterioration that it was an accident waiting to happen.

"Here we have a man, Mr Findlay Jnr, who was operating a dangerous ride. It is ridiculous to suggest it would not have been obvious to him.

"Was he entitled to rely on the opinion of Brian Black who inspected the ride two months earlier? No, he cannot wash his hands of all responsibility, just because he had the equivalent of an MoT for his ride. He cannot hide behind him."

The case continues.