Monkey Bizness: 'My shock after another dad knocked me down with punch at popular Sheffield play centre'

A shocked dad says he was punched and sent sprawling across a table at a popular Sheffield soft play centre.

Ben Rhodes had taken his young son, Frederick, to the Monkey Bizness play centre at Don Valley Centertainment, near Meadowhall, as a Saturday treat a week before Christmas.

But he says after he had been there a while, he received a tap on the shoulder from another parent.

He says that the man then accused Ben of calling his son 'stupid', which he denies, before punching him on the chin. Ben says the impact of the blow sent him sprawling across a table.

He says other parents then grabbed his attacker to stop him. The attacker was then ejected from the venue.

Ben, from Ringinglow, in Sheffield, said: "My son was affected by this. He's only young and all he says is 'daddy, this man hit you'. He won't go to play areas any more because of it.

"I'm all right. I already have a metal jaw after being beaten up in 2013 in a bar."

Police were called to the incident, and launched an investigation. But Ben is upset that officers have made no arrests. He says they have told him they had checked CCTV in the venue, but had said that the quality of the picture had not been good enough to identify the man.

He is also upset that he was not offered any first aid by staff at the centre, and feels that they should have more security in place to deal with such incidents.

"It's a kids play area," he said. "This sort of thing shouldn't happen."

He believes that the cause of the incident must have been mistaken identity, and that the man who hit him may have thought he was someone else.

"I certainly wouldn't go and call someone's child stupid," he said. "But this bloke showed no remorse. It was just out of the blue. He sent me flying onto the table."

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed the attack was investigated.

The force said in a statement: "We were called to reports of an assault at Monkey Bizness, Sheffield, on 16 December 2023.

"It is reported that a man approached the victim before having a verbal allocation and assaulting the victim. After exploring all available lines of enquiry, the investigation has been filed pending further investigative opportunities coming to light.

"If anyone has any information they wish to share to us, you can do so via our online live chat, our online portal or by calling 101. Please quote investigation number 14/219604/23 when you get in touch."

Monkey Bizness have been approached for comment but have not responded to an email from The Star. When The Star phoned the venue, we were told that they would comment on press enquiries.

Based at Centertainment, next to a huge car park and close to a team stop, Monkey Bizness is one of Sheffield's best known soft play centres, as well as one of the largest of its kind in the city.