A schoolboy was taken to hospital after tumbling more than 20ft from a fairground ride.

The 12-year-old fell from the Splash Mountain funhouse at the fair at Beach Green, Lancing, shortly after 7pm yesterday.

He slipped off a wooden platform and fell through rope railings on to grass below.

An ambulance took the boy to Worthing Hospital, where he was kept in for observation.

Police said he suffered minor head injuries.

Health and Safety Executive officials visited the site, which is on land owned by Lancing Parish Council, just off the beach.

Splash Mountain closed briefly after the accident but was allowed to remain in operation last night.

The boy was able to get up after his fall but he was shocked and dazed.

The operators of Splash Mountain declined to talk about the incident.

One man operating the next-door attraction, called Wipe Out, said: "We don't know what happened.

"I heard a boy had fallen or been injured on the ride.

"I asked a police officer about it and he told me the boy is fine, he just has a grazed head."

A girl operating a stall opposite Splash Mountain said: "Nobody seems to know what happened."

The fair on Beach Green is a popular annual attraction.