Furious mother of girl, 11, who was left with a bald patch after an arcade ticket machine ‘ripped her hair out’, claims the family were offered ‘a free slushie’ as an apology

• Annabelle Hall, 11, bent down to pick up a receipt when the machine ‘sucked’ in 
• READ MORE: I had an operation to correct my overbite and it gave me a new face

A schoolgirl has been left with a bald patch after her hair was torn out by an arcade ticket machine, her mother has claimed.

Annabelle Hall’s hair got stuck in a ticket slot as she bent down to pick up a receipt at Tenpin, a bowling alley in Coventry, West Midlands, in October. 

The 11-year-old was left ‘traumatised’ by the freak accident, for which her mother Jackie claims the venue only offered a free slushie and 1000 arcade tickets as an apology.

As Annabelle bent down to collect her receipt, Jackie, 40, claims the 11-year-old’s hair was ‘sucked’ into the machine, ripping out her locks in a movement she described as ‘vicious and strong’.

Jackie, a hairdresser from Rugby, Warwickshire, said: ‘Annabelle had just won 1,000 tickets on a “spinner frenzy” arcade game.

Annabelle Hall has been left ‘traumatised’ by the freak accident, for which the venue only offered her a free slushie and 1000 arcade tickets as an apology

The machine ‘sucked’, pulling out Annabelle’s locks – in an incident her mother Jackie Hall (pictured together), 40, described as ‘vicious and strong’

‘She was printing off a receipt for the tickets and it fell on the floor.’

The mother added: ‘She bent down to pick it up, when suddenly the slot in the machine where tickets are supposed to be put sucked up a lot of her hair and ripped it off her head.

‘It was really vicious and strong – it sucked it straight up. She was crying and I rushed over, when she turned round I could see a bald spot.’

The incident, which happened on October 30 at around 1pm, has left Annabelle ‘extremely distressed and traumatised’, Jackie said.

Annabelle said: ‘I was shocked and worried and in pain a lot of pain at the time. It was frightening.

The 11-year-old’s hair got stuck in a ticket slot as she bent down to pick up a receipt at Tenpin, a bowling alley in Coventry, West Midlands

Jackie said: ‘She bent down to pick it up, when suddenly the slot in the machine where tickets are supposed to be put sucked up a lot of her hair and ripped it off her head’

‘I want others to be careful so it doesn’t happen to them.’

‘She has been very brave – she’s kind of trying to not look at it,’ her mother said.

‘She doesn’t really want to talk about it or look at her head and doesn’t want me fiddling about with it. She has been a bit quiet. But I think she just wanted to bawl her eyes out – she’s trying to be strong.’

Jackie is now considering whether there are grounds to take legal action.

She claims staff at the venue offered her daughter a free Slushie and 1000 prize tickets as an apology for what happened.

‘That’s about enough to buy £3 worth of sweets,’ Jackie said.

Jackie claims staff at the venue offered her daughter a free Slushie and 1000 prize tickets as an apology for what happened

‘It did feel a little bit like they were trying to sweep it under the rug. If that was me I’d be mortified, especially in my line of work.’

A Tenpin spokesperson said: ‘Tenpin recognises our responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for our customers whilst creating a place to have fun.

‘The machine in question was inspected, no faults were identified and was fully compliant with the manufacturer’s specification.

‘We offered a range of complimentary experiences for the family to return and enjoy, which were declined.’

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