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Indoor ski centre charged after inquiry into 12-year-old’s death

Louis Watkiss, 12, died in an accident at the SnowDome in Tamworth in 2021.

Matthew Cooper
Friday 13 September 2024 17:29 BST
Louis Watkiss, 12, of Sutton Coldfield, was fatally injured at the SnowDome in 2021 (Staffordshire Police/PA)
Louis Watkiss, 12, of Sutton Coldfield, was fatally injured at the SnowDome in 2021 (Staffordshire Police/PA) (PA Archive)

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The operator of an indoor ski centre where a 12-year-old died after suffering a head injury has been charged with a health and safety offence.

A statement issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on Friday said the charge related to the death of Louis Watkiss, aged 12, in an accident at the SnowDome in Tamworth, Staffordshire, in September 2021.

The statement read: “After an initial joint investigation with Staffordshire Police, HSE can now confirm SnowDome Limited has been charged with breaching section 3 of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.”

The case has been listed for a first hearing at Telford Magistrates’ Court in Shropshire on October 9.

Louis, from Sutton Coldfield, was tobogganing at a friend’s birthday party when he was involved in a collision on the slope which left him with a serious head injury.

He was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

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