A green energy boss who launched a £1.5m lawsuit against a theme park over claims a ride left him crippled must now pay £200,000 in costs after he was caught white water rafting in South Africa.
Richard Walkden, 62, sued for the seven-figure sum, alleging that a cable car accident at Drayton Manor Park left him with pain so bad he was 'totally unable to bend his back'.
But his damages claim against the parent company, was thrown out after a judge saw social media photos of him on a rafting expedition with his family.
The images showed him kitted out in a buoyancy aid and helmet, sat on the edge of a raft before it set off through the rapids of the Crocodile River, near Pretoria.
A judge found Mr Walkden - who previously worked as managing director of green energy firm, Eartheat Ltd in Leicestershire - 'fundamentally dishonest' and he was ordered to pay £200,000 in lawyers bills, with more to come on top.
High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples said the county court trial judge had been entitled to find that Mr Walkden's claim was dishonest as he had exaggerated his injuries.
Images of Richard Walkden showed him kitted out in a buoyancy aid and helmet, sat on the edge of a raft before it set off through the rapids of the Crocodile River, near Pretoria
The court heard the accident happened when an operator at the Staffordshire theme park set off a cable car containing Mr Walkden and his family too quickly, causing it to swing.
He suffered a back injury while he stood in an awkward position, trying to protect his young sons on the Easter 2014 outing.
Suing for £1.5m, he claimed the accident had left him with chronic pain, which had put an end to his career and his beekeeping hobby.
He was unable to bend his back at all, he claimed, and had also suffered psychiatric injuries in the traumatic event.
Drayton Manor Park Ltd admitted liability for the accident, but disputed the size of Mr Walkden's claim and the extent of his injuries.
Evidence showed he had gone on a white water rafting expedition on the Crocodile River, in South Africa's West Province, just eight months after the cable car incident.
Social media photos showed Mr Walkden sat on the edge of a raft in rafting gear, while lawyers pointed at other photos which they said showed him going down the river with the rest of his party.
Mr Walkden, who ran a renewable energy company, claimed he had not taken part in all of the activity, claiming he had only joined the party after the rapids, only paddling in calm waters.
But giving the original judgment at Leicester County Court in March last year, Judge Murdoch dismissed his claim.
'I do not accept that he did not do the entire
