Eight-year-old girl seriously injured in holiday party horror
Sienna Crank was having 'the time of her life' in Turkey with 17 members of her family when she was badly injured at the Green Nature Resort and Spa in Marmaris.
The eight-year-old was enjoying the foam party in the packed-out pool when a large piece of single-pane glass was blown off a DJ booth, and a large shard hit Sienna on her arm.
Others were also injured in the incident, which happened last month, but Sienna is thought to have been the most seriously injured.
She was rushed to the hospital, where the doctor told her she had been millimetres away from having tendons severed.
Sienna from Bolton continues to be traumatised by what happened, her mother said, and will live with lifelong scarring to her arm.
"Surely it is common sense not to have glass on a DJ stand next to a pool – you can't even have glass for your drinks. It was probably an accident waiting to happen, I can't believe they didn't see the massive risk,' her mother, Joanne Chadwick, said.
'The DJ booth was carried in just for the foam party, it wasn't there all the time, so it wouldn't even have been properly secured. It was quite a windy day, and with all the people having a good time, it was a huge risk to have glass around.'
'This has left us devastated, and of course, it ruined our holiday. Sienna will be left with the scars and memories of this for the rest of her life,' Ms Chadwick added.
The incident happened in the afternoon of 7 June, when Sienna and her family were six days into their 10-day break.
Ms Chadwick, a mother-of-four, had gone back to her sunbed to get a towel when she saw people running over to her.
'I ran to Sienna and saw the cut on her arm. It was absolutely horrific and I remember screaming for someone to call an ambulance,' she said.
'You could see the bone, that's how deep the cut was – I still remember it every day, and can't stop thinking about what if the glass had been a little bit higher and hit her throat. It absolutely haunts me.'
After being rushed to a hospital in Marmaris, Sienna received stitches both inside the cut and on the surface of her skin.
Doctors told her she had been 'very lucky' not to have been more seriously injured.
Since returning home, Sienna has been left deeply afraid of glass. 'When we went to the hospital to get her stitches taken out, she was convinced the Perspex screen behind her was going to shatter on her,' Ms Chadwick said.
The nine-year-old is also expected to be left with a permanent scar on her arm.
'Being an image-conscious girl already, of course, that is going to be awful for her as she gets older. This whole thing has been absolutely horrific,' her mother added.
Ms Chadwick is now taking legal action against Easyjet Holidays, the travel operator they used for their holiday.
Darren Dyke, lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said: 'What was a fun-filled family holiday turned to horror in a split second for Sienna and her loved ones – this wholly avoidable incident could have been fatal through the lack of care or awareness in installing a mobile glass DJ stand. It doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened.
'Sienna and her family are, of course, devastated by what happened and understandably want answers and accountability. We will support them in every way possible to achieve that.'
An easyJet holidays spokesperson said: 'The safety and wellbeing of all customers is a priority, which is why we ensure all of the hotels we offer meet our high health and safety standards. As this case is now a legal matter, we're unable to comment further.'
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The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Eight-year-old girl seriously injured in holiday party horror
An eight-year-old girl had her arm cut down to the bone after glass fell on her during a swimming pool party in Turkey. Sienna Crank was having 'the time of her life' in Turkey with 17 members of her family when she was badly injured at the Green Nature Resort and Spa in Marmaris. The eight-year-old was enjoying the foam party in the packed-out pool when a large piece of single-pane glass was blown off a DJ booth, and a large shard hit Sienna on her arm. Others were also injured in the incident, which happened last month, but Sienna is thought to have been the most seriously injured. She was rushed to the hospital, where the doctor told her she had been millimetres away from having tendons severed. Sienna from Bolton continues to be traumatised by what happened, her mother said, and will live with lifelong scarring to her arm. "Surely it is common sense not to have glass on a DJ stand next to a pool – you can't even have glass for your drinks. It was probably an accident waiting to happen, I can't believe they didn't see the massive risk,' her mother, Joanne Chadwick, said. 'The DJ booth was carried in just for the foam party, it wasn't there all the time, so it wouldn't even have been properly secured. It was quite a windy day, and with all the people having a good time, it was a huge risk to have glass around.' 'This has left us devastated, and of course, it ruined our holiday. Sienna will be left with the scars and memories of this for the rest of her life,' Ms Chadwick added. The incident happened in the afternoon of 7 June, when Sienna and her family were six days into their 10-day break. Ms Chadwick, a mother-of-four, had gone back to her sunbed to get a towel when she saw people running over to her. 'I ran to Sienna and saw the cut on her arm. It was absolutely horrific and I remember screaming for someone to call an ambulance,' she said. 'You could see the bone, that's how deep the cut was – I still remember it every day, and can't stop thinking about what if the glass had been a little bit higher and hit her throat. It absolutely haunts me.' After being rushed to a hospital in Marmaris, Sienna received stitches both inside the cut and on the surface of her skin. Doctors told her she had been 'very lucky' not to have been more seriously injured. Since returning home, Sienna has been left deeply afraid of glass. 'When we went to the hospital to get her stitches taken out, she was convinced the Perspex screen behind her was going to shatter on her,' Ms Chadwick said. The nine-year-old is also expected to be left with a permanent scar on her arm. 'Being an image-conscious girl already, of course, that is going to be awful for her as she gets older. This whole thing has been absolutely horrific,' her mother added. Ms Chadwick is now taking legal action against Easyjet Holidays, the travel operator they used for their holiday. Darren Dyke, lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said: 'What was a fun-filled family holiday turned to horror in a split second for Sienna and her loved ones – this wholly avoidable incident could have been fatal through the lack of care or awareness in installing a mobile glass DJ stand. It doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened. 'Sienna and her family are, of course, devastated by what happened and understandably want answers and accountability. We will support them in every way possible to achieve that.' An easyJet holidays spokesperson said: 'The safety and wellbeing of all customers is a priority, which is why we ensure all of the hotels we offer meet our high health and safety standards. As this case is now a legal matter, we're unable to comment further.'
The Sun
11-06-2025
- The Sun
I adopted two siblings as babies – but when one pulled a knife on me 10 years later we gave her back & kept her brother
AS her 16-year-old adopted daughter threatened her with a kitchen knife, Sophie Chambers feared she might die. She and husband Tim knew that adopting wouldn't be easy but never imagined such grave danger. 3 The siblings they had welcomed into their home as a baby and tot had turned violent. Eventually, things got so bad, Sophie and Tim returned Sienna to care. 'I wouldn't blame anyone for being shocked we made our child homeless,' Sophie says. 'People must think I'm a monster. But we had been put in an impossible position.' According to Adoption England, around three per cent of adoptions are officially disrupted – meaning the children can't stay with the adoptive parents. Sophie and Tim, who wed in 2003, had always wanted a family. But after battling infertility for five years, including three failed rounds of IVF, they adopted. 'We had good jobs,' says Sophie. 'Tim works as an IT manager and I'm in advertising. We live in a beautiful home in Cheshire. 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'They'd been taken away from family after Jax sustained serious injuries and Sienna was found to have been physically abused. 'Their behaviour was terrible — they were mean and violent. 'On one occasion, my parents had put them to bed and they got up. When they told them to go back to bed, my son spat in his grandmother's face. 'They also struggled to make friends. I tried to help them connect with peers and, for Jax's 5th birthday party, we invited his whole class. Not a single child came. My heart broke. 'Despite their behaviour, which we knew was the result of trauma, we loved them. 'We took them to dance and music lessons and on foreign holidays, but it made no difference. 'They often got into trouble at school, starting in primary school but escalating by the time they got to secondary. 'Our son took a penknife into class and our daughter walked out of lessons and backchatted.' 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'We both felt that the training we'd had around bringing up adopted children was wholly inadequate, but Tim and I had spent years doing our own research. You're Not Alone EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone. If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: 'If we'd had the right support, we might have been able to cope. 'When we told a social worker [Sienna] had been smoking cannabis, he said we should consider ourselves lucky it wasn't more hardcore drugs.' In May 2024, Sienna tried to walk out of the house on the day of a GCSE exam and Sophie put her foot down. 'Couldn't cope' She recalls: 'Sienna had run away for the night, and the police had just brought her back. 'We heard the friend she'd run away with back out on the street, shouting for Sienna to go back out with her. I was furious. I told her there was no way she was going out. She lost her temper worse than I'd ever seen it before. 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At times, the guilt is impossible. Jax fears we will do the same to him, however much we reassure him.' The couple have since found online support group PATCH, which helps adoptive families. Sophie says: 'I hope by sharing our story, it may help other families going through similar.'
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘Absolutely no evidence': how NSW police backflipped on unlawful strip-search
Raya Meredith was at one of Australia's biggest music festivals when a drug detection dog sniffed in her direction. The dog then walked on, the New South Wakes supreme court recently heard, but police officers stopped her. They took her bag and searched it. The 27-year-old, who was postpartum at the time, was then taken into a makeshift tarpaulin, where a female police officer asked her to take all her clothes off, bend over and bare her bottom, drop her breasts and remove her tampon. At one point, a male officer walked in unannounced. The search found no drugs and nothing else illegal. 'It was a horrible thing to go through,' Meredith said in emotional testimony on the first day of a class action against the state of NSW about the search. But so too, Meredith told the court, was the 'gaslighting' she endured for years by the police force who denied her version of events, leaving her feeling 'violated, yet again'. Shortly before a class action against the NSW police began almost two weeks ago, the force back flipped and admitted in court documents to unlawfully strip-searching her. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'It was difficult to have police officers, who were there, who saw it, say I was lying,' she said. Meredith is the lead plaintiff of a class action that wrapped up this week, which was brought by Slater and Gordon Lawyers and the Redfern Legal Centre against the state of NSW over allegedly unlawful strip-searches conducted by police, including of children. Three thousand people have signed on to the class action, but the affected cohort could be twice as large. The case did not just focus on Meredith's evidence or police practices when it comes to conducting strip-searches. A large portion of closing arguments this week went to the police's conduct throughout the case. For two years, until just before the proceedings began, the police denied the search of Meredith was unlawful, arguing they had had 'reasonable suspicion' based on her demeanour and body language. The police had called 22 witnesses, mostly police officers, to contradict Meredith's version of events. But in the days before the hearing began, the police withdrew their witnesses. Meredith was the only witness to appear, taking the case down from the scheduled 20 days to just five. The police had also attempted to subpoena Meredith's medical history even though she had not made a personal injury claim. 'The plaintiff's evidence was, 'If I could have walked out of this case then and there I would have,'' Kylie Nomchong SC, who acted on behalf of the plaintiffs, told the court. 'We say the issue of the subpoena was a strategic one designed to and having the effect of intimidating [Meredith] and that's exactly what it did.' Nomchong said the police should pay aggravated damages due to their conduct during the class action. She told the court the police had made the 'outrageous' submission 'asking your honour to infer that it was objectively necessary to search the plaintiff's breasts and genital area' … without any evidence whatsoever'. 'It's just offensive,' Nomchong said. Two of the witnesses the police force withdrew were the female police officer who conducted the search and the male officer who walked in unannounced. 'The only available inference is that any evidence from those police officers would not have assisted the defendant,' Nomchong said. Julian Sexton SC defended the police's conduct in the case during his closing argument, saying aggravated damages could not be awarded because Meredith had not been recalled to give evidence about how she felt about NSW police's conduct during the class action. However Justice Dina Yehia, who oversaw the case, said she was concerned about their conduct. Specifically, the police having had three iterations of its defence before backflipping shortly before proceedings began to admit it did unlawfully strip-search Meredith. 'That is a matter, I'll be quite honest with you, of grave concern to me,' Yehia said on Thursday. The judge said she was concerned that the police defence suggested officers had formed a reasonable suspicion to strip-search Meredith based on 'things like her demeanour, what was said outside the tent, and [the officers] recalling it was said outside the tent and not inside'. 'There is absolutely no evidence, unless you can take me to it and I've missed something,' Yehia said to Sexton. 'All I have is the officers' statements that say either they don't remember the search, or both that they don't remember the search nor remember the lead plaintiff. In those circumstances, I'm just not sure how this could ever have proceeded in the way that it did with the initial pleadings.' Sexton responded that the defence was based on police 'practice' in such instances, adding it was 'not [based] on distinct recollections of somebody'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion He also defended the attempt to subpoena Meredith's medical records, saying: 'There is nothing inherently objectionable about issuing a subpoena' and rebutted claims it was designed to intimidate Meredith. 'It was not issued for an improper purpose. There's no evidence to that effect, he told the court. In her opening arguments, Nomchong had told the court that Meredith's circumstance, as lead plaintiff, was not unique, but demonstrative of systemic failures. 'This is an extraordinary case, but not an isolated one, it is at the serious end, but not the most serious.' She argued the vast majority of strip-searches conducted by state police between 2018 and 2022 at music festivals were unlawful because they did not meet the legal threshold for being carried out in serious and urgent circumstances, and argued they were instead treated as 'routine'. Of issue, Nomchong told the court, was also that police knew drug detection dogs are only accurate 30% of the time. Yet they continue to use them as the primary justification for searches. 'That was something the police service knew yet we saw COPS event after COPS event,' she said, referring to the Computerised Operational Policing System database, 'where the only indication for the event was drug dog indication'. She told the court that before the 2018 Splendour in the Grass festival where Meredith was searched, police had little direction on how to conduct a lawful strip-search, and that officers had received 'absolutely negligible' training at the academy and as part of ongoing mandatory training. She argued this was a statewide issue. '[This] didn't just happen during the Splendour in the Grass event, it's happening across the state in relation to all of the music festivals,' Nomchong told the court. 'Same input, same result.' But Sexton disputed these claims, saying each case would have to be considered individually. He also pointed to figures which showed there had been few complaints about unlawful strip-searches between 2016 and 2018. He argued strip-searches at music festivals did fall within legal criteria that police can carry out a strip-search in serious and urgent circumstances, because the searches were 'trying to stop people dying'. 'The urgency of the circumstance is that if the strip-search is not conducted, the drug … will either be consumed or disposed of,' Sexton told the court. He also said that after a dog indicates it has detected drugs, police can then arrest on their own trained assessment such as how a person is behaving. Turning to claims that police considered strip-searches as a matter of 'routine', Sexton disputed this, saying: '[There's a] very, very, very small number of people who are being searched.' The court heard there were 36,000 people at the 2018 Splendour in the Grass. The court was told 148 people were strip-searched and 50 others were searched clothed. Sexton also contradicted claims by Nomchong that police were not adequately directed or trained. 'This isn't about teaching your grandmother to suck eggs, this is about an operational order to experienced policemen,' he said. Closing arguments ended on Friday.
