Dad tried to catch boy in inflatable ‘zorb’ catapulted into sky by ‘freak wind’
A “freak weather phenomenon” catapulted a little boy trapped inside an inflatable “zorb” ball 20 feet into the air.
Dad Paul Holmes screamed “there’s a boy in the sky” as he rushed to save the terrified child.
The 43-year-old witnessed the freak accident unfold during a family day out at Southport Food and Drink Festival in Victoria Park on Sunday (June 4).
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Once the inflatable landed, Paul was forced to rip open the ball to free the trapped child.
Speaking to the Echo, the dad explained he and his family were looking for somewhere to eat when a breeze hit the area.
He continued: "In my peripheral, I saw two of the zorb balls go up into the sky and I just screamed at the top of my voice 'There's a kid in one of those balls someone catch him.'
“The minute I shouted 'there's a boy in the sky' the staff at the inflatable place were quick to get all of the kids out of the remaining balls in the pit.
"The main zorb of concern I would say was probably 15-20 metres in the sky easily. The wind just whipped it up into the sky. It was like a bit of a freak weather phenomenon."
Paul and other onlookers went into a “mad panic” attempting to catch the boy but missed due to the gusts of wind.
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He said: "I stopped them straight away and said someone shout for help we need urgent medical attention, there's been a major incident around the back."
North West Ambulance Service told the publication that an ambulance, a senior clinician and an air ambulance were called to the scene at 1.56pm.
The nine-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital with multiple serious injuries.
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Merseyside Police later confirmed the boy remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Paul said: "My thoughts go out to the parents of the little boy."
Paul said one of the staff members from the inflatable business was in tears following the incident.
He added: "People seem to be forgetting the owner of the inflatable business – they must be going through absolute hell with this."
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