Dad of four 'thought it was game over' after being struck by falling Perspex in Hamleys
Jonathan said it was a ‘Christmas miracle’ that no one died during the incident. He is now suing the iconic toy shop for his injury.
A dad-of-four is suing the UK's oldest toy company Hamleys after being injured by a large piece of perspex that fell two storeys onto him while Christmas shopping.
Jonathan Joseph was on the escalators in the flagship Regent Street store with his family when screams alerted him to what appeared to be a ‘shard of shattered glass’ falling towards them.
“It was massive and I instantly knew it could be game over.” said Jonathan.
So, without any regard for his own safety quick witted Joseph shoved his daughter to safety and stood in front of a pram behind him to take the full force.
“I wasn’t a hero I just did what every other dad would do I just reacted instinctively.”
He later discovered he had been hit by a rogue 4ft sheet of clear, heavy, hard perspex that had detached and plummeted off the escalator two floors above.
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Self employed window fitter injured his leg and had to be signed off work.
But Jonathan says he could easily have 'been killed’ by the falling debris and has now launched legal action against the UK's most famous toy shop.
Jonathan, 43, from London blasted: “A children’s toy store should be the safest place in the world. But it wasn’t. Our Christmas family day out was terrifying. No kids or parents should be scared of shopping for toys. But now my kids are wary of going in stores or using escalators.
“This could so easily have been a death. If that hit a child or even me on the head, it would have been game over. It’s just luck it hit my leg. It took two staff members to lift the piece that hit me it was that heavy. It is a Christmas miracle no one died. I still don’t know how no one was seriously injured.”
Jonathan, his sister, niece and his 9-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter had been visiting all seven floors to let the excited children pick out their favourite presents.
As they were preparing to exit the last few steps of the escalator on the first floor to get the lift back up to collect the chosen toys screams started above them.
The dad of four added: “I heard shouting, screaming and a massive commotion coming from above. I looked up and it was terrifying to see what looked like a huge shard of glass coming towards us. I knew if that hit a child or me we would be dead. I had split seconds to react but there was a baby in a pram behind me and I had my daughter beside me so I pushed her out of the way and leaned in towards the pram to protect it and take the hit.” said the self-employed window fitter.
Incredibly it missed his head and instead hit his shin and leg instead and he braced himself for seeing his leg “ripped apart”.
“I thought that was it, I was a goner as it it had been glass falling from that height would probably have smashed and cut my head open or an artery and it might be my time and I was ready for it.” Added the dad who also has two other daughters aged 18 and 22.
Miraculously it turned out instead to be a two inch thick 2x2 foot piece of hardened glass like Perspex, which hit his leg and ricocheted off without shattering.
But his joy was short lived as immediately ‘incredible’ pain shot through his right leg and he was unable to stand properly.
First aid staff at the world’s oldest toy store company, which was founded in 1760 by William Hamley, helped him to a chair and treated him with ice packs.
“A staff member told me it had fallen off an escalator two floors above. I couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was and how I was still here.”
He says after signing the accident book and going home he attended a walk-in centre and was prescribed extra strong pain meds and signed off work and was unable to play football.
“Football if my life and it put me out for months and I’ve played every week since I was a teen and it cost me my captaincy . I was gutted.”
He also struggled to look after an elderly relative for whom he was a registered carer at the time.
“It was very hard work , lifting and helping around house , but I just couldn’t do it then. I felt useless.”
But worst of all he says the November 2024 injury ruined Christmas for his children as he was unable to buy any of the presents they had picked out earlier in day at Hamleys.
He added: “I felt really guilty; I could not get my kids any of their Christmas presents they wanted. This made me feel like I ruined Christmas and let my kids down.”
The famous toy seller has 176 franchise branches worldwide and runs 11 stores across the UK.
In the weeks following the incident, Jonathan was left wondering how such a terrifying incident could happen in a family-friendly store.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened and how close we came to being seriously injured. I wanted to make people aware in case something similar happens again anywhere. The more I thought about I knew I had to do something. “he added.
He contacted accident specialists Express Solicitors.
Its injury specialist Isabella Greenslade said: “This was supposed to be a magical family day out, but it quickly turned into a nightmare before Christmas. It is just sheer luck that Jonathan and his family weren’t more seriously injured. Big brands need to maintain their stores to make sure they are safe for customers to visit especially in busy holiday periods.”
Hamleys issued a statement saying: "Hamleys takes the safety of customers and staff extremely seriously. An investigation has been launched and we're unable to comment further at this stage."
London World has contacted Hamleys for an additional comment.