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KIDS FAVOURITE SLIDES INTO HISTORY

04-06-2008

A huge slide at Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens which delighted generations of children without serious mishap has been removed – for Health and Safety reasons.

As we reported last August, the slide in the popular kids play area was fenced off last summer while drainage work was being carried out (see link here).

Now it’s been taken away altogether – and it won’t be coming back.

We described it as being “scarily high”, but apart from the odd scrape and graze no child has been hurt on it – and tens of thousands have been thrilled by it.

A number of parents have complained, but it won't be coming back.

No one can blame the Botanical Gardens management – once their card had been marked by the Health and Safety Executive, they can't risk being responsible for an accident.

In the unlikely event of a serious injury occurring on the slide, a smart lawyer would no doubt take them to the cleaners.

It does beg a wider question, though, about our attitude to risk in modern society.

If children can’t encounter frightening physical challenges, how are they ever going to learn to overcome them?

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