The woman said the situation was 'an absolute tragedy' for the family and friends of the girl while she and others at the park felt 'shock' and 'helplessness' at the scene. Meanwhile, witnesses today recalled how the water park was thrown into 'chaos' on Saturday after the 11-year-old girl was reported missing.Ī 41-year-old woman from South Buckinghamshire, who did not want to be named, was at the 'busy' water park with her teenage daughter on Saturday, having been several times before. But it was postponed at short notice due to the inspector falling ill with Covid. The inquiry, which could ultimately result in the Total Wipeout-style inflatable course being forced to shut, was due to take place in March. The park, which the council says has permission for water-skiing and windsurfing and not as an 'aqua theme park', is currently awaiting a four-day public inquiry over the row. It comes as it has emerged that the water park is in the midst of a row with local planning chiefs who say parts of the site, including the aqua assault course, do not have currently have the correct planning permission. Sandy Kaur, who visited the water park yesterday morning, said: 'We go to the lakeside soft play area regularly, but yesterday was the first time we were given wristbands because they said the park was 'overbooked and expecting large numbers'.' 'With this action from the council, we will no longer be able to train much-needed open water lifeguards in Datchet.' He said: 'Losing children's activities that help build confidence in the water with their peers and reducing safe access to water for thousands of residents in the summer months really scares me. Stuart Marston, managing director of Liquid Leisure Windsor, said to the BBC's Local Democracy Reporting Service ahead of the hearing that he feared the park could close. The planning row was set to be subject to a four day inquiry by the planning inspectorate in March this year.īut it was postponed after the inspector, who was due to attend the water park as part of the inquiry, fell ill with Covid. The council say this is because the addition of the water park and its use as a party venue had deviated from its planning permission for water-skiing and windsurfing. She knew how scared I was.'Īnother mother, who did not want to be named, and whose 13-year-old daughter was at the water park on Saturday when the incident occurred, said when asked whether it was right to reopen the park tomorrow: 'I think that's outrageous! Completely inappropriate given what's happened and the concerns raised.'Įarlier this year bosses of the aqua park flagged that they were 'deeply worried' that it would have to shut - with 300 jobs at risk - due to a planning row with the council.Īccording to the Maidenhead Advertiser, Liquid Leisure was served with an enforcement notice in December 2020, requiring the park to remove most of the buildings on the site amid claims they had breached planning rules. 'I wondered if anything similar might happen to someone else. If I was not there and screaming, she would have got trapped. 'I was watching the news and thinking: This could have been my daughter.
'I didn't really want to return and passed it on to a friend, but I later called them and advised them not to use it because I didn't think the place was safe.' They said: 'Sorry about that and we hope you have a better experience next time.' We brought it to management, who apologised and gave us a voucher to come back. She added: 'I'm convinced she would have drowned if me and my husband weren't watching.
BLOW UP WATER PARK FREE
That comes despite safety concerns among parents, who almost exactly a year ago flagged their concerns about the water park - only to be offered free tickets to come again.Ī mother-of-two said she had a 'very similar situation' with her own 11-year-old daughter after she fell between two inflatables - with her head becoming 'stuck in the water'. Police officers remained at the scene on Monday, with the aqua assault course set to reopen on tomorrow morning, according to staff. She was taken to Wexham Park Hospital, where she later died. A water park where an 11-year-old girl died is set to reopen its inflatable assault course tomorrow despite parents having raised safety concerns up to a year before her death.Įmergency services rushed to Liquid Leisure, near Datchet, Berkshire, at around 3.55pm before the girl, who had been reported missing, was found shortly after 5.10pm.
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