Feature: Too risky by far?

Being sued by parents is something every children's and youth professional dreads. It's the nightmare facing Colin Powell, manager of the Gwenfro Adventure Playground in Wrexham, after a boy fell off an aerial runway and broke his elbow.

Initially, the boy's parents were understanding about the incident. "The mother had used adventure playgrounds as a kid herself and was aware that occasionally these sorts of things happen, although obviously she was upset her son had broken his elbow," explains Powell.

It was only after the son's grandparents had encountered "no win no fee" solicitors in the local town centre asking people if they knew anyone who'd had an accident recently, that the court case was launched. Powell attributes the family's motivation for pursuing the case as purely financial. "I was very disappointed that this course of action was being taken. The driving force behind it is money," he says.