Chessington World of Adventures are being prosecuted over alleged health and safety failings that left a four-year-old with a fractured skull after she fell from the queue of a popular ride.

Jessica Blake, from Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, fell from about 14ft through a gap on a rope bridge while queuing for the Tomb Blaster ride at the theme park in June 2012.

She suffered fractured ribs, a fractured skull, a bleed on her brain, liver and kidney damage and was left in a critical condition at St George’s Hospital in Tooting for weeks.

More than two years later the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which conducted its own investigation into the fall, has decided to take the theme park to court over the incident.

A statement released by Chessington World of Adventures said: “We are disappointed that the HSE has decided to prosecute but will now take time to read their findings and reasons for this decision in detail before responding any further.

“The health and safety of our visitors is always the primary objective of Chessington World of Adventures. We take any incident on the park very seriously, particularly one as significant and unprecedented as the one in June 2012 in the Tomb Blaster queue.”

It added the theme park had carried out its own investigation at the time of the incident and cooperated with the HSE investigation.

The case is due to be called at Redhill Magistrates’ Court on November 4.

Chessington World of Adventures also lost a High Court battle to ban an email campaign criticising its safety record this week.