AMUSEMENT park operators Dreamland Leisure Ltd have been fined £25,000 over the death of a schoolgirl who plunged from a rollercoaster ride in Folkestone.

At Maidstone Crown Court the company was also ordered to pay eight-year-old Erin Griffin's mother, Michele, £15,000 as well as £140,000 prosecution costs.

Erin, a pupil at Adisham County Primary Shool, near Canterbury, came out of her seat on the Mini Dragon ride on September 11, 1999, after waving at her mother who was watching from the ground.

Judge David Croft, QC, said of the accident: "It springs, in my view, from the sloppiness at the very top of this company. The person responsible for the running of that company should himself feel morally responsible for what has happened."

The judge brought a solemn note to the proceedings when telling the jury for the first time that Erin's father David, 42, had killed himself in July last year.

The jury took just over three and a half hours to find Dreamland guilty of breaching health and safety regulations.

During the 21-day trial the company was accused of failing to take simple, cheap steps that could have prevented Erin falling at Folkestone's Rotunda Amusement Park. She died from her injuries the next day.

Dreamland denied failing to discharge its duty under Health and Safety regulations, pointing out that regular checks and maintenance were carried out at the park.