Luton council slams 'unreasonable and misleading' report that claimed town playground was an accident hotspot

Luton Council has hit back at a claim that it has one of the worst parks in the county.

A report by personal injury company Simpson Millar, based on boroughs who had responded to a Freedom of Information request claims Bedfordshire is a UK hotspot for dangerous children’s playgrounds with around 8% of all accidents reported in UK playparks since 2019

It stated Bedfordshire has so far recorded 71 safety complaints in 2022 – the same number as the whole of 2021 – and singles out Luton’s Ashcroft Park as having the worst safety complaint record, with 21 recorded instances for this specific playground in the past four years.

But the council has hit back, stating the report has concentrated on one park in Luton and does not include any data from across the rest of the county.

A spokesman said: “To draw conclusions from such a narrow sample set is unreasonable and misleading.

“The council’s parks and play areas are ideal places for children to enjoy themselves safely, whilst learning about mobility, independence and self-confidence.

“Every piece of apparatus has been designed by specialists in outdoor child play and we have a regular programme of monitoring the status and safety of all our equipment in order to maintain a very high standard.

“In the past four years, across our 55 play areas we have only been notified of five accidents.

“The number of complaints received regarding the equipment at Ashcroft in 2022 reflects the high usage this particular area receives with the ensuing wear and tear one might expect. That there have been no reported accidents from this year confirms our view that, in partnership with the public, we have an efficient reporting process which allows us to rectify potential safety issues quickly.”

In its report, the company said: “In a bid to find out how dangerous UK playparks really are, our personal injury team here Simpson Millar have gathered data from UK councils on reported accidents and complaints (in relation to equipment safety) at public playgrounds in their areas since 2019.

“We have then used this to help determine where some of the most dangerous playgrounds can be found, indicating where parents may want to be especially vigilant.

“According to our research, the total number of accidents reported between January-August 2022 has already hit 89% of last year’s figures, with more than a quarter of the year still to go.

“If this trend continues, it’s expected that the number of accidents reported to have taken place at children’s playparks will be 34% higher than it was last year, showing that the risk of injury in public playgrounds is a valid concern for UK parents to have.”

The report states Hampshire, with 292 playgrounds, accounted for 10% of all complaints and accidents reported in the UK since 2019.

Bedfordshire came second, but the report claims the county only has 55 play areas, with 215 complaints since 2019, accounting for 7.65 of nationwide complaints since 2019.

A Luton council spokesman said: “We encourage parents to report any concerns online.”