An investigation is underway after a father and daughter were tossed into the water and trapped under an upturned bumper boat at Onchan Park.

Anthony Giles and daughter Jamie-Leigh, seven, were enjoying the ride, while mum Rebecca Griffin was happily filming them on her camera.

But laughter stopped when the boat started to lift after contact from other boats.

Horrified Rebecca watched helpless from the other side of the pond, as the boat tipped over, with Anthony and Jamie-Leigh underneath.

Quick-thinking bystanders rushed to help and, thankfully, Jamie-Leigh was not badly hurt. But she was shaking and in tears after the traumatic incident. Anthony banged his head and hurt his leg but was otherwise unscathed.

Rebecca and some of Jamie-Leigh’s rescuers are now questioning the safety of the bumper boats.

’It could have been any child, or a child on their own, in that boat,’ said Rebecca, 24.

’They were both underneath the boat. I saw a lady rush over and she helped to lift the boat and grabbed Jamie-Leigh.’

A spokesman for Onchan Commissioners told the Examiner the authority was aware of the incident, which happened on Wednesday, and was ’working with the Health and Safety Inspectorate to investigate the matter’.

Although badly shaken, Jamie-Leigh was otherwise unharmed, said Rebecca. But she was grateful for the help of others. ’The one thing Jamie-Leigh remembers is the woman who helped her out of the water and gave her a huge hug.’

That woman was mother-of-two Claire Battye, 35, from Baldrine. She had been nearby with her two sons and her brother, James Campbell, watching the bumper boats.

’The boats all went together at the same time and one boat managed to tip up,’ she said. ’As soon as I saw how close it was to the wall, I just dropped all my stuff and ran to the water’s edge.’

Claire was worried that Anthony might have hit his head and lost consciousness, leaving the two of them in ’serious trouble’.

’I reached the boat just after it had tipped and tried to lift the boat but it was just so heavy and I could not get a grip of anything properly,’ said Claire, who is coach of the Isle of Man netball team.

’I saw that the man was conscious and was trying to keep the boat weight off the girl while still trying to hold her above the water.’

With the help of James, they managed to lift Jamie-Leigh out of the water.

’She was hysterical, so I shouted to him to pass her under the boat to me. We lifted her out of the water and had a quick check to see that she was okay.

’As soon as I could see that she was okay I just hugged her, then picked her up to keep her a bit warmer and so she could see her dad coming out of the water after managing to lift the boat.’

Claire praised Anthony.

’He was very dazed and probably in shock, but he was great and did everything to make sure the little girl was okay.’

Much of what happened remains a blur for Anthony, 29, but he remembers realising there was still some air under the boat and then helping Jamie-Leigh out of the water.

’I lifted the boat for her to go through and then the woman was there to grab her,’ he said. ’Jamie-Leigh was crying, waiting for me to come up.’

It was only after it happened he realised he had sustained some knocks, but he believes the adrenaline - along with experience from a kayak course that including how to stay calm after a capsize - helped him stay focused on Jamie-Leigh’s safety.

Anthony and Rebecca, of Farmhill, Douglas, say they accept accidents can happen but are concerned about what safety procedures are in place.

That view was echoed by James, 45, from Hull, who was back in the island to visit family. He said: ’Three or four boats seemed to come together at the same time and one was being tipped up. We found it funny at first but then quickly realised it was going to capsize. It struck the side

James said they soon realised people were trapped underneath.

’My sister reacted quickly and dropped everything to go and help and I followed,’ he said. ’Claire was trying to lift the boat up from the side and she managed to grab the girl and I helped her lift the child out.’

He added: ’It was a frightening experience and it could have been worse if my sister and others hadn’t reacted quickly enough.’