Mum claims eight-year-old son’s birthday trip to Legoland was ruined after he left theme park covered in insect bites
Young boy's dream trip was turned into a nightmare after he woke to find neck covered
A MUM claims her son's eighth birthday was ruined when he came home from a stay at Legoland covered in painful insect bites.
Sarah Webster, 40, splashed out £170 on a special break at the Legoland Resort Hotel for her son William.
The young boy's dream trip was turned into a nightmare after just one night when he woke to find himself covered in itchy bites around his neck.
Sarah says doctors told them they were bed bug bites - but the family theme park claim no evidence of an infestation was found by pest controllers.
Estate agent Mrs Webster, from Croydon, south London, treated her son to the trip in November as a birthday treat after a year of tragedy and deaths in the family.
She said: "I just wanted to create some special memories for my boy because he's had so many bad memories over the past few years."
They stayed at the resort on Friday November 4th, along with close friend Joanne Bradley and her two children James, 6, and Emily, 1.
By Saturday afternoon, however, both Mrs Bradley and William couldn't stop itching.
Mrs Bradley, a part-time local government officer from Croydon, said: "I started to get really, really itchy and bites began to appear.
"They felt extremely itchy - much more than mosquito bites."
The families met a group of guests who had been staying in a nearby room who also claimed to have found the blood-sucking insects in their beds.
After getting home Mrs Bradley was kept up the following night scratching away at the bites on her neck, shoulder and hand.
She said: "I emailed the hotel at 11 pm that night and then 4 am as I couldn't sleep. I was crying the next day as I couldn't even change my daughter's nappy."
Both parties were examined by their doctors, who also believed the bites to be from bed bugs.
They were in lines of three on Mrs Bradley's hand, shoulder and neck - the pattern of bites bed bugs leave.
The constant scratching set off William's eczema and he had to be put on an antibiotic cream for weeks.
When contacted by the families, Legoland said they had searched the room and found no sign of bed bugs.
But Mrs Webster is adamant that her son was bitten at Legoland.
She said: "I know that he was bitten in their property. It's frustrating and horrible.
"All I wanted was an apology.
"My boy lost both his nannies this year and I just wanted him to have a special birthday."
"Following her complaint we immediately commissioned a pest control company to do a full inspection of the room she stayed in."There was no trace of bed bugs found anywhere in her room and we shared the report from the pest control company with Mrs Bradley to show her the findings.
The room Mrs Bradley stayed in has since been used by other guests and we have had no further complaints."
The resort does not hold much luck for families, even ex-power couple Brad & Angelina.
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