Lyme Bay kayaking tragedy

On 22 March 1993, a group of eight pupils and their teacher were accompanied by two instructors from an outdoor centre in a canoe (kayak) trip across Lyme Bay, on the south coast of England.

As a result of a series of errors and circumstances, four of the teenagers drowned. The others survived. The party had run into difficulties straight away as one boat became swamped. The group was swept out to sea, where all their canoes were quickly swamped.

The subsequent trial resulted in the prosecution of the parent company and the centre manager. The owner of the activity centre and the centre itself were convicted of corporate manslaughter over the deaths. This was the first conviction for this offence in the UK. The owner was jailed for three years, but his sentence was cut to two years on appeal. [http://www.aala.org/lymebay01.html] This tragedy accelerated governmental discussions until, in January 1995, the Activity Centres (Young Persons’ Safety) Act 1995 was passed through Parliament in January 1995 and an independent licensing authority, the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) was formed.

See also

* Outdoor education