TV presenter Anna Ryder Richardson blamed in court for boy’s zoo injury

TV presenter Anna Ryder Richardson was driven to tears in court when she was blamed for the serious injuries suffered by a child at the animal park...

13:46 09 July 2012

TV presenter Anna Ryder Richardson was driven to tears in court when she was blamed for the serious injuries suffered by a child at the animal park that she owns with her husband Colin MacDougall. 

 

Ryder Richardson was accused of not following health and safety laws after a falling tree hit a three-year-old boy and his mother. The little boy Gruff Davies-Hughes was hit on the head and had to fight for his life in intensive care for three days. Emma Davies-Hughes, the boy’s mother, also suffered injuries to her head, as well as to her leg, pelvis, and arm. 

 

The two were with dozens of other visitors in the wallaby enclosure when a strong wind caused a tree to fall. A heavy branch from the three hit the two. It took emergency services two hours to free both mother and child, who were then flew to Morriston Hospital in Swansea. Ryder Richardson was said to have been there and was ‘devastated.’

 

Ryder Richardson, who bought the park four years ago for the amount of £1million couldn’t keep from crying throughout the 30-minute hearing at the Swansea Crown Court. She and her husband both denied the two offences they were accused of, both of which were under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. They are currently on bail, with the case scheduled for trial in November. 

 

The couple appeared in court together, but arrived and left separately, igniting rumours that the court case was putting a strain on their marriage. Ryder Richardson’s husband confidently denied this.