Three injured, including two children, on Rotherham fairground ride

An evening at a South Yorkshire funfair ended in a major emergency response on Friday after three people, including two young children, were injured on a ride.

Paramedics and police officers were called to the Maltby Crags Fair in Rotherham at around 6:50 pm following reports of an incident on one of the attractions. The fairground was forced to close early as emergency crews worked to treat the casualties and safely evacuate the site.

The three injured people are an 11-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 21-year-old woman. All three were taken to hospital, though authorities have not yet released details regarding the severity or extent of their injuries.

How emergency services responded

The incident prompted a substantial deployment of emergency vehicles to the fairground, which is located off Blyth Lane in Maltby. The Yorkshire Ambulance Service confirmed it dispatched a significant resource, including two ambulances and three rapid response vehicles, to the scene immediately after receiving the emergency call.

Paramedics treated the 11-year-old and 13-year-old children at the scene before transferring them directly to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The 21-year-old woman was also hospitalised for her injuries, though emergency services have not disclosed which hospital she was taken to.

To manage the sudden exit of visitors and allow the medical teams space to work, South Yorkshire Police officers closed a section of Blyth Lane between Muglet Lane and Victoria Road. The road closure remained in place for several hours while the fairground was emptied and the emergency response was completed. Police confirmed the road was reopened later on Friday night.

What happens next?

As of Saturday, key details about what caused the incident remain unconfirmed. Neither the police nor the ambulance service have commented on which specific ride was involved in the accident, or what exactly went wrong on the attraction.

The operators of Maltby Crags Fair have not yet made a public statement regarding the incident. It is not yet clear whether the Health and Safety Executive, the government body responsible for investigating fairground ride accidents, has launched a formal inquiry into the event.

Local residents described seeing a heavy presence of flashing blue lights and police tape around the site shortly after 7:00 pm as crowds were guided away from the rides. The fairground remained closed for the rest of Friday evening.