Go Ape in Battersea Park
(Picture: Alex Lentati)Go Ape has closed sections of 25 of its adventure parks after a person was injured at one of its sites over the weekend.
The injury occurred at the Bracknell site on Saturday when a safety rope system that had been used over 2.5 million times failed.
The company launched an investigation and shut its Bracknell site. The Treetop Adventure course section on 25 of their 34 sites were also closed as a precaution and would reopen this week, a spokeswoman said.
Tristram Mayhew, founder of Go Ape, said he was shocked by the injury and said the company would be installing an independent backup safety line to allow the popular play parks to re-open.
He told the Standard: “As the founder, I am personally so sorry that someone has been hurt as a result of participating in an adventure which should have been a wonderful family experience.
“Having investigated, we are leaning towards a possible product failure as the cause and we have shared this information with the manufacturer.”
Mr Mayhew said he had introduced “an immediate and simple safety fix” saying he was “confident” that the same problem cannot happen again.
He refused to give any more details on the injury or the person involved.
He added: “Our mission has always been to create adventures and to encourage everyone to live life more adventurously.
“We remain steadfast in that belief but wish to reassure everyone that their safety always has been – and always will be - at the heart of what we do every day.”
Go Ape was founded in 2002 by Tristram Mayhew, a former tank commander with the Royal Dragoon Guards, and his wife Rebecca.
It opened its first site in London in Battersea Park in 2015.
