The glum face of 5-year-old Luke Whitmarsh speaks volumes.
With eyebrows furrowed, his eyes convey a mixture of hurt, anger and fear – emotions resulting from a crackdown by the European Union on his playground in the British village of Great Somerford, Wilts.
Whitmarsh’s photograph accompanies The Sun report of European Standard BS EN 11 76. This new EU edict sets a maximum height for children’s swings at three meters (9 ft. 10 ins.).
The three swings Luke played on are two feet over the limit, so they have been removed 25 years after they were erected.
“It’s very sad. The park’s not exciting anymore,” Luke told the Sun.
The British newspaper reports the European directive also includes other rules regulating the distance from the seats to the frame and to the ground.
While the EU directive is not law, failing to comply could leave the village council open to lawsuits if a child were injured.
The council seeks to raise some $6,425 needed to buy new swings.
