Our daughter, 5, was ‘POISONED’ after £65 trip to Waterworld aqua park – we want a refund
A YOUNG girl was allegedly "POISONED" by chlorine gas after a £65 trip to Waterworld - and now her family are demanding a refund.
Annabelle, five, and her parents Ashley and Jessica Curwood travelled to the aqua park for an early birthday present for the little girl - but the trip soon descended into disaster.
The family said they suffered sore eyes and chesty coughs within 15 minutes of getting into the water last Sunday morning.
And they claimed other families at the aqua park also complained about similar issues - thought to be caused by the chlorine levels.
They said the lifeguards' eyes looked as if they were streaming as they went into first aid kits to wash out their eyes.
And little Annabelle was coughing so hard that her chest hurt - leaving her disappointed and wanting to go home early.
The dad claims they said there was too much chlorine in the water because of an issue with a pump - and doctors at A&E later "told him that there was chlorine gas poisoning."
But Waterworld in Stoke has hit back, arguing that there were no health and safety breaches.
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Annabelle's dad told : “Our eyes were stinging really badly and there were quite a few people coughing.
"We looked at the lifeguards and their eyes looked like they were streaming. They were going in the first aid box and getting the eye wash out to wash their eyes.
“I spoke to one of them and asked what was happening. They said something had happened with one of the pumps and there was too much chlorine in the water.
“Your eyes always sting when you go to a swimming pool but this was quite extreme.
"You were constantly rubbing your eyes. We had to go and wash them out with water. It was mainly my daughter we were worried about.”
Ashley added: “We were advised to go out of the pool for half an hour, wash our eyes out, and try not to go under the water. We tried to carry on but it was getting quite bad.
“Our daughter started coughing a lot and she said her chest was hurting. She went and sat on the side, I got her a drink of water. She was upset and didn’t want to go back into the water.
WORLD OF HURT
“I spoke to a member of staff at around 12pm and they said we had been in here for a few hours so they couldn't do anything about it in terms of a refund. He said they could offer us some mini-golf tickets or change our pass so we could stay all day.
“I spoke to my wife and my daughter but she didn’t want to stay in the pool. We said we will do mini-golf. But when we got changed and everything my daughter said she didn’t want to do that, she wanted to go home. We told them we didn’t want to do it anymore.
"We were told it was either mini-golf or tickets to come back another day. We didn’t want to come back. I’m not happy about it."
Following the visit, the family called 111 and they were advised to send Annabelle to A&E.
The dad claims that medical professionals said they had been exposed to "chlorine gas poisoning" after their horror trip to the aqua world.
Ashley added: “My wife was in there for about three-and-a-half hours which was longer than you got in the pool.
"They said she was not in any danger but they confirmed it was 'chlorine gas poisoning'.
“We have to watch her for the next few days and make sure her breathing is fine and that she is not coughing up blood.”
The dad said he wants his money back - because the ordeal "wasn't cheap" and they don't want to return to Waterworld.
He said: “I am massively disappointed with the company.
“We had an hour in the pool and the rest of the time we were out washing our eyes.
“If they had just apologised, here is your money back, and we hope you come back again; we probably would have.
“The main thing I wanted was my money back, it’s not cheap. It cost around £60 to go there. £3.50 for parking and then £2.50 for a locker.
“It takes about 55 minutes for us to get there. I said we don’t fancy coming back, it’s not a two minute drive for us."
A Waterworld spokesman said: "All pool tests and operational plantroom procedures were followed and adhered to fully, as is the norm. There were no breaches in any health and safety protocols.
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"As a business we ensure our customers are dealt with in a fair manner. We do our best to make sure all customers leave with a smile.
"We believe the manager on duty did all he could to address the situation and offer a remedy."