A TEENAGE girl was left battered and bruised after an incident at a funfair in York.

Shelly Goldsmith's boyfriend says he watched in horror as she was tossed back and forth on the Spritzer ride at the Thunder Theme Park on Knavesmire.

York College student Shelly, 17, of Lerecroft Road, Dringhouses, is to see a doctor about her injuries and has lodged a complaint with the Health and Safety Executive.

She claims she received bruising and strains to her shoulder, arm, back, leg and groin in the incident on Thursday evening, which also left her badly shaken.

Shelly said: "There was no one in the seat next to me and I was bounced from side to side as the ride went round. It went on for ages.

"Then when I got stuck dangling between the seats the woman operating it slowed it down so I could climb back into my seat, but she started it again without asking me if I was all right.

"I've never been so frightened on a ride before."

Her boyfriend, Chris Chambers, said: "She was falling from one side to the other and then left stranded in the middle.

"It was really worrying to watch."

He claimed that the same thing had happened to his 14-year-old cousin on the same ride a couple of nights before.

Shelly's mum, Joanne Woodward, said her daughter was upset and shaken when she returned from the attraction, which is billed by its owners as a fully-fledged mobile theme park, and not a funfair. Riders on the Spritzer are held in by a bar.

"You expect these rides to be safe," she said.

"Someone a bit smaller than Shelly could have been really badly hurt. There should be safety straps on it because it goes at a hell of a speed."

Steve Graham, the theme park's part-owner, declined to comment when approached by the Evening Press.

Updated: 10:19 Saturday, June 09, 2001