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Monster Truck show organiser scotches safety fears amid clean-up row

Parents whose children play in junior baseball at Southside have nothing to worry about regarding the clean-up of the area in the wake of the Monster Truck shows last weekend, according to one of the show organisers.

Debris from cars crushed by the giant trucks and general litter were left in the aftermath of the three shows, causing concern among parents and members of the YAO Little League Baseball programme that a busy weekend of games with 800 youngsters due to take part tomorrow and Sunday would not be able to go ahead because of safety fears.

But one of the organisers of the Monster Truck show, Ray Hollis of DNA Entertainment, was at Southside when he spoke to the yesterday afternoon and said that almost all the rubbish and debris had been cleared away with only a ramp and a few small items left to be taken down.

Photographs showing the mess after the show were being circulated on email yesterday, backing up the concerns of the YAO Little League Baseball and parents of the children who take part in the games.

David Bedard, president of the YAO Little League, said the Thrill Show promoters had failed to leave the area as they had found it directly after the event ended.

He added: ?A visit to the site on Wednesday ? two full days after the last show ? brought amazement at the carnage left over from the show.

?It appears the last show ended and everyone went home.

?No work has gone into cleaning up the area. For hundreds of yards away on Kindley Field Road as you approach Number 1 Gate you start to see large amounts of trash on the roadside.?

He said the area where the shows took place was covered in broken glass, discarded car doors and bumpers and trash.

Mr. Bedard added: ?Coming this weekend is an action-packed weekend for 800 kids aged four to 16 involved in youth baseball in Bermuda with important games on Saturday and the annual East/West All Star Games on Sunday.?

The Thrill Show hit the headlines earlier this week after a stunt backfired when one of the giant trucks hurtled towards the crowd before braking at the last minute.

Spectators panicked to get out of the way and in the rush two people received injuries that required hospital treatment.

Organisers later apologised for the way the stunt had been executed.

Mr. Hollis inspected the site yesterday and said almost everything had been cleared away and there would be no disruption to the youth baseball event.

He said: ?It?s spotless. It has all been cleared up.

?It took six days to set up so it was going to take more than one day to take everything down again.

?The pictures must have been taken on the Monday or Tuesday before the clean up was completed.?