Safety inspection leads to kite flying ban in park

Children have been banned from flying kites in a playground because of fears that they could get them tangled up in overhead telephone cables.

The ban was imposed after a safety inspection at the park, in the village of Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said that a child could be tempted to climb the telegraph pole to free a trapped kite.



Stefan Piwowarski, chairman of the parish council, said: “We don’t want to stop children flying their kites but we’ve had no choice. It’s better for us to be safe than sorry. We are just making sure that we tick all the boxes for when we get these health and safety inspections.”

Paul Cox, 45, a villager, said that he had happily flown kites with his children on the park. “It's ridiculous. It's a parent’s responsibility but we seem to be living in a society where parents want to be absolved of their own responsibilities.”