A TEENAGER’S birthday celebration turned into a nightmare following a freak accident at an amusement arcade.
Lisa Rodger from Beauly Crescent, Dundee, went to Pleasureland in Arbroath with friends and family to celebrate turning 13.
But following a crash on the dodgems, Lisa ended up being treated for whiplash, bruising, and damage to the tendons under her eye.
Mum Michelle, 32, said: “She got to the first corner and spun out of control — at that point two men in another dodgem crashed into the side of her.
“The weight of them lifted the whole cart up into mid-air and it ended up sitting on the barrier at the side.
“She was really shaken up about it and had bad bruising so we went to Ninewells.”
Lisa was seen by a doctor and given painkillers for the bruising and had to take a week off of school to recover from the incident.
She said: “It was really sore. I was upset and was in shock and just sat there screaming.
“I never want to go on the dodgems again. I’ve had bad dreams about it too.”
Todd O’Brian, manager of Pleasureland, said customers’ safety is of paramount importance.
He said: “I wasn’t on shift but I did hear about it as we have incident forms we fill out. I was shocked to hear about her injuries. We always have two trained first-aiders on shift who know how to operate the rides safely.
“In the incident report, it says the girl was bumped from behind after the car was stuck against the track, resulting in her hitting her ear off the headrest.
“She was offered an ice pack to reduce any swelling but her mother said it wasn’t necessary.
“The nature of the dodgems is you get bumped and you are never going to be 100% free of accidents.
“We have an annual inspection by the Amusement Device Inspection Procedures Scheme which ensures amusement devices are regularly inspected and certified as safe for use.
“We also do daily checks on every ride here. The safety of our customers remains our number one priority.”