A man responsible for inspecting a roller coaster which crashed at M&Ds Theme Park avoided a jail sentence on Monday.
Craig Boswell signed off the Tsunami ride as safe without having a vital report from another inspection company.
Nine people, most of them children, were injured in the horrific crash at the Strathclyde Park funfair in June 2016.
Earlier this year M&D Leisure was fined £65,000 at Hamilton Sheriff Court after failing to ensure the ride was maintained in an efficient state.
At the same court Boswell, 56, of Calderpark Road, Uddingston, admitted an offence under health and safety legislation.
He was ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid community work as an alternative to custody.
The court heard of a catalogue of serious injuries sustained by the casualties who were aged between 11 and 19.
The court heard welding repairs carried out to axles on the ride’s individual passenger cars were “inadequate and unsound”.
M&D Leisure had employed contractors to carry out repairs and the ride had been passed safe, but the company accepted it should have involved the manufacturer or another “competent person” in the process.
Boswell, a self employed inspector, admitted that he hadn’t obtained a report by another inspection company before the ride was given a compliance certificate which indicated it was safe to operate.
He was said to be “remorseful” over the omission and is paying £14,000 towards the cost of the Health and Safety Executive’s investigation into the accident.
His lawyer, Gavin Anderson, told the court: “But for some road traffic matters, he has no history of criminal offending.
“It is deeply regrettable that he finds himself in this position.”
Sheriff Thomas Millar said Boswell was guilty of “medium culpability” and a prison sentence had to be considered.
But he told the accused: “I don’t think it is appropriate. I can take a step back from that and impose a period of unpaid work instead.”
