Council set to remove children's trampoline so it doesn't get sued if someone falls off

A council is planning to remove a children’s trampoline because it doesn’t want to be sued if someone falls off it.

Parents who paid £600 to install the communal trampoline said Birmingham City Council had threatened to take it away on safety grounds.

The children, several of whom have autism, were said to have been in tears at discovering the alleged threat to their beloved toy on Kineton Croft, Bartley Green.

Mum Melissa Jamie, who contributed money to build the trampoline, said she would stand in front of it in protest with other parents when it was due to be removed on Wednesday.

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In total, four families saved for seven months to buy the trampoline in a bid to keep their children away from cars after a youngster was hurt in a crash on nearby Monmouth Road.

Jamie, whose autistic daughter uses the trampoline, said: "My daughter's been crying her eyes out, I said: 'Don't worry, no one's taking it.'

"[This] morning they're coming to get it, so we're all protesting – all the parents – that it's got to stay.

"All the neighbours are agreeing – they're all saying no. We're devastated because the kids have nothing [otherwise]."

She said up to nine children used the trampoline, which has a safety net, all taking turns as their parents watched from chairs beside it.

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Jamie added: "All the kids play and it's not safe because the cars speed up and down, so me and my neighbours put money towards the trampoline because we've all got autistic children.

She said: "Every day it gets used after school, they're out there for hours. No-one's been injured."

But Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for environment, Cllr Majid Mahmood, said it was too big a risk for the council to bear.

He said if any third party has play equipment or similar furniture intended for public land or existing council-maintained play areas, it needs to be discussed with the council before installation.

Cllr Mahmood (Lab) said: “If the relevant safety checks and measures are not carried out along with agreements around the issue of maintenance, it places the council at risk of liability if any incidents occur.

"This exposes taxpayers across the city to a risk that it is not possible to bear.

“We do have a framework for parks infrastructure and can buy for groups items that meet the correct standards if they work with us in advance.”