The parents of Louis Watkiss who died at the SnowDome after a staff member collided with him on the slope during a tobogganing party have spoken out about the level of fine and the justice system
The family of a schoolboy from Sutton Coldfield who died in a ‘preventable’ accident at a Tamworth snow sports site have slammed the level of fine handed out.
Louis Watkiss was attending a friend’s birthday party at the SnowDome in Riverdrive on Friday, September 24, 2021, when a member of staff collided with his toboggan.
The staff member then fell backwards onto Loius, causing catastrophic head injuries and causing him to die at the scene.
The Health and Safety Executive brought a prosecution against SnowDome Limited under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, with the company admitting it had failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of its customers.
Read more: SnowDome ordered to pay £116k after schoolboy dies at birthday party
SnowDome Limited received a £150,000 fine, but this was reduced by a third for its guilty plea. Therefore, it was ordered to pay £100,000, plus a £2,000 surcharge and £14,534.20 in costs—a total of £116534.20.
But Louis’s parents questioned the justice process and described the fine as ‘ridiculous’.
His dad, Chris, said: “We want to thank the HSE for getting a prosecution even though the fine is just ridiculous.
“It’s not appropriate to a child’s death. The justice system, for me, is flawed in so many ways.
“I think that’s just been demonstrated today.
“You don’t expect your child to go to a leisure centre, wind up dead and there be no custodial sentence.
“Just a fine, a slap on the wrists and get on with it.”
Speaking about the hearing Louis’s mum, Natalie, said: “The family are pleased and relieved that the prosecution is finally coming to an end after almost three-and-a-half years since our beautiful son Louis died at the SnowDome in Tamworth.
“We are grateful to the health and Safety Executive for the work that they have done.
“But we remain frustrated that it has taken this long for the matter to finally be concluded.
“We believe that if the police had acted more quickly in obtaining appropriate witness and expert evidence, which they declined at the beginning of the early investigation stage, then the prosecution would have concluded much sooner.
“We have had to endure this ongoing legal process and constant reminders of what happened to our beloved son, throughout this time.”
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Natalie continued: “He leaves behind a legacy a child that was loved, wanted and had a whole 70 years ahead of him.
“And he leaves behind an eight-year-old sibling who cannot understand what on earth has happened to his brother.
“However, we will stand strong and ensure that Louis’s memory will not be forgotten and this will not be the last of this.”
The Parents Of Louis Watkiss Speaking After The HSE Case
Louis’s dad said the world had been ‘robbed of a lovely lad’. He said: “He was a lovely lad, full of life and talented. Very good at the saxophone. Interested in the world. Brave courageous.
“We did some wicked and wild things together as a family and him and I on our own. It’s just a sad, sad loss.”
Natalie stood holding a photo of Louis, two months before he died added: “I would also just like to say the photograph I am holding up now is picture of Louis James Watkiss who was wanted and adored.
“He was born on December 29, 2008, at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.
“This photograph was taken by my husband, Chris, standing outside that Chelsea hospital.
“The hospital is 380 steps from the Chelsea ground; he was a supporter, so we counted them.
“And this was taken on the 24 of the seventh 2021, only several months before he passed away at the hands of the SnowDome.
“He had a huge circle of friends, so the impact was on them. Some of them were at the party. What they saw will change their lives forever.”
Chris and Natalie vowed to stand strong to ‘ensure that Louis’s memory will not be forgotten’.
Natalie said: “We need to be the voice for other people whose children go to leisure centres and come away.
“You do not expect to send your 12-year-old child to a birthday party and sit on a toboggan and in six seconds is crushed to death by a member of staff, who had a cavalier approach to health and safety policies, and who is also affiliated with Leicestershire Police force.
“And we have struggled with that for the last three-and-a-half years.”
The couple was upset that District Judge Kevin Grego pronounced their son’s name wrong three times and also misread the date of the incident.
Read more: SnowDome tragedy was ‘preventable’ says HSE as it issues risk assessment warning
They said they hoped the inquest would uncover ‘the real truth’ and ‘leave no stone unturned,’ although that inquest may not take place until 2026 or 2027.
They hope the inquest will recognise the role of children wearing helmets and the possibility it will ‘prevent future deaths’. They also spoke of Louis’s brother George and the effect his elder brother’s death had on him.
Natalie said there were ‘triggers just everywhere’ adding: “It’s been an arduous and harrowing journey.
“We have struggled hugely because we have entered into a process that we just never expected and you just have no idea what’s coming down the line.
“Not only are we trying to manage our own grief but also trying to support our youngest to get through that.”