A FATHER of four has been left furious after an inflatable collapsed on top of his five-year-old son.

Bryan Crawford, 37, of Nether Priors, in Basildon, took his children to a Wacky World inflatables session at the Sporting Village in Cranes Farm Road.

At the event, which took place at the weekend, he said his youngest child was trapped inside one of the inflatables after the fan came away from the apparatus, causing it to collapse.

Mr Crawford said that only two members of staff were inside the hall watching the children as they used the 11 different inflatables.

He said: “I have four children so I have to put myself in a position where I could see what all of them were doing at all times.

“My 13-year-old out daughter doesn’t need too much supervision but the younger ones I had to keep an eye on.”

Suddenly Mr Crawford’s youngest son ran to him in tears.

His eldest daughter told him the inflatable had collapsed on top of her brother, and she had to help him get out of the inflatable as it continued to deflate on top of him.

He said: “He was incredibly shaken up and scared after it happened. He’s now terrified of bouncy castles.

“The time it took for my little boy to get out of there and run to me could have been ages. I’m angry there was no one there to help.”

Mr Crawford said that Wacky World did not remove the inflatable from the following sessions, and he felt the proper safety precautions were not in place to stop the incident happening again.

He said: “My children and I watched as the staff tied the fan back in place with a piece of rope - that is not enough. They offered us a discounted session but that is not what I want, it is about the next child that could be hurt.”

Wacky World’s website states that parents are responsible for their children while they are taking part in the session.

Wacky World did not respond to a request for comment.

Shaun Beagle, contract manager at Everyone Active, which runs Sporting Village, where the event took place, said they were aware of the incident.

He said: “The sports hall at the centre was rented out by an external company for this event, who took charge of and ran the session. Everyone Active received a full risk assessment from the company at the point of booking.

“We have spoken to the family who were affected by the incident and are liaising directly with Wacky World to investigate the matter.”