A Bognor company has been fined after a nine-year-old girl was injured on an inflatable bouncy cushion.

The Fun Bus Company Ltd ignored safety advice and put children at risk, magistrates in Arundel have ruled.

The company was prosecutd by Arun District Council following a lengthy accident investigation by the local authority's Environmental Health department.

The court heard that the Fun Bus Company had set up the inflatable bouncy cushion, like a bouncy castle but without sides, at Southfields Playing Field in Littlehampton.

Children were playing on it when a gust of wind lifted it into the air, catapulting the little girl who landed heavily fracturing her left wrist.

The accident investigation revealed that although the inflatable airbed was provided with anchorage points, the company failed to secure it to the ground.

This was common practice by the company, despite Health and Safety guidance which states that such items should always be secured to the ground when used outdoors to prevent them being blown away by the wind.

In court on October 31, the company pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety regulations and was fined £2,000 plus £2,335 costs.

The solicitor for the Fun Bus Company told the court that his clients regarded the incident as a minor one and asked the magistrates to take into account the fact that the company is a charity, partly funded by Arun District Council.

But the magistrates said they did not consider the accident minor.

Credit was given for the guilty plea, previous good safety record and show of remorse but the company was told it had failed to discharge its duty and had disregarded safety advice.

According to magistrates this presented a clear and forseeable risk to children's safety.