Parents Seek Compensation After Tot Drowns

The parents of a two year old boy who drowned in a duck pond may be refused compensation.

The family had been on a caravanning holiday in Greenacres Holiday Park near Pothmadog in August 2004, when the two year old boy was found by his father, floating with his face down in a duck pond after he and his 14 month year old brother wandered off just 60 yards away from the caravan.

As a result, the boy drowned to death.

Last year, the boy's parents took legal action against the Bourne Leisure Ltd - which operates the holiday park - for the trauma, the experience put onto the boy's father.

Public liability

The claim was settled in court and boy's father was awarded with £25,000 in compensation for the trauma of finding his son, after Judge Seys Llewellyn QC, at Wrexham County Court held the firm liable under the Occupiers Liability Act.

The Judge stated that although Bourne Leisure had taken precautions to fence around the pond, it was still "a trap for the unwary" and holidaymakers should have been made aware of any hazards.

However, the father may need to reimburse the £25,000 payout if a court appeal made by Bourne Leisure is successful.

The firm filed an appeal against the court ruling stating that there was "no sufficient basis" for the ruling that further information of the hazards would have "prevented the lapse of attention that enabled children's escape."

Christopher Alldis QC for Bourne Leisure stated that its guests had received a "welcome pack" which included the location of the three ponds.

He also argued that the firm had the right to expect "close parental supervision of children as young as two and a half."

However, Simon Earlham, solicitor for the boy's father said that the ruling was "unchallengeable."

He stated that both parents were "responsible, attentive and caring parents" and "transparently honest."

Fight for change

The father of the boy is now fighting to change the law to ensure appropriate precautions are taken to all man-made water attractions.

He stated that the water areas should be fenced off so that children are unable to climb over or under barriers.

He said that his son may still be alive had the fence been higher.

The boy's father said: "No judgment has been announced yet and it would not be appropriate to comment until that has happened.

But the case is not about the money. What I'm trying to get over is that most adults can take responsibility for their own actions - the few that can't and the children need looking after.

I want a change in the law so that any man-made water attraction is properly fenced off. There's not a lot more I can do but I will keep trying."

One judge, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton, said: "A toddler can disappear in a fleeting moment. I don't think there can be any parent who has not been in that situation. It is impossible to live in a riskless society".

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