Latest news with #KyraHill
The Sun
5 days ago
- The Sun
I watched my little girl take last breaths in pool of bubbles as she drowned at water park party… lifeguard didn't help
A FATHER has spoken out after he watched his young daughter drown in a tragic incident at a water park. Kyra Hill, 11, died at a birthday party after drowning in a designated swimming area at Liquid Leisure in Windsor. 7 7 An inquest previously heard how the water Kyra drowned in was marked as "shallow." Her heartbroken parents have now spoken out about the horror of watching their daughter take her last breaths. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Kyra's father, Leonard, spoke about watching on in horror as his daughter sunk below the murky water three times while a lifeguard watched on and did nothing. He described seeing CCTV footage showing the 17-year-old life guard fail to act while standing in the exact spot his daughter drowned. Kyra vanished in August 2022 while attending the leisure centre with her family. Authorities were called but the youth was tragically found over an hour later. She had drowned in a body of water 2.68 meters deep despite a 17-year-old lifeguard managing to reach the exact point where she disappeared under the water. An inquest into Kyra's death heard that the lifeguard was unable to rescue her as the staff at Liquid Leisure were only qualified to perform " surface-water rescues." Kyra's parents are now battling for tighter safety measures to be implemented at leisure centres in the hopes of preventing another tragedy. They say that the lifeguard should have been able to rescue their daughter from drowning and are calling for better training to be provided. Man, 24, dies after falling into paddling pool in back garden and drowning in 'freak accident' Kyra's dad described CCTV footage showing the lifeguard standing in a "pool of bubbles" at Kyra's "pinpoint location" as his daughter took her last breath. He told how he felt the lifeguard was "never going to dive under" to save his daughter. Leonard added that the lifeguard had "not been trained, she was only trained in surface rescue" saying that the teen lifeguard was "not equipped with the right tools." Kyra's grief stricken family are pushing for safety regulations to be improved around water parks, asking for CCTV to be manned at all times. 7 7 7 The couple pointed out that no emergency plan or protocol was in place at the leisure centre. Kyra's mother, Heather, said that despite CCTV footage capturing her daughters death no staff were trained or briefed on how to respond in an emergency situation. CCTV footage at the pool was not being monitored she said, adding that it took more than an hour for the footage to be checked after emergency services arrived. Shortly after the CCTV was seen, a diver managed to locate Kyra and pull her body from the water. Kyra's tragic death was previously ruled as unlawful at an inquest. At the time the coroner commented on poor signage describing deep water as "shallow." The coroner, Heidi Connor, went on to describe the sings as "falsely reassuring." Ms Connor also commented on children being permitted to swim without buoyancy aids and parents not being advised to attend with a ratio of one adult per four children. Rachel Marcus, representing Kyra's devastated family, asked the coroner to consider a charge of gross negligence manslaughter by Liquid Leisure owner Stuart Marston. She also called for an additional charge of corporate manslaughter. The inquest found breaches included the lack of an emergency plan or a risk assessment. The park's owner was fined £80,000 in June 2024. 7
BBC News
10-06-2025
- BBC News
Kyra Hill's parents say regulations 'would save children's lives'
The parents of an 11-year-old girl who drowned at an aqua park have called for tighter regulations so other families do not have to "bury their children".Kyra Hill got into difficulty in a designated swimming area at Liquid Leisure near Windsor, Berkshire, in August May, an inquest concluded she was unlawfully killed following gross breaches in health and safety, including the lack of an emergency plan or an adequate risk parents, Heather Parker and Leonard Hill, said regulations such as the requirement for emergency plans and clear signage could prevent future unavoidable drownings at water parks. "There's no way that this should be happening in 2025 in the UK - it shouldn't be happening to our children," said Mr Hill. Kyra was attending a birthday party at the Berkshire aqua park on 6 August 2022 when she went inquest heard a 17-year-old lifeguard spotted her struggling and dived in after her, but she said visibility was "terrible" and she "couldn't see anything".Despite being told Kyra had got out, the lifeguard told colleagues and a manager quickly attended. Emergency services were called 37 minutes after Kyra was last was found at about 17:10 BST, more than an hour after she was last seen, and pronounced dead in hospital. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Girl died at water park birthday party which did not have the right planning permission
A water park where an 11-year-old girl drowned did not have planning permission to host birthday parties, it has emerged. Kyra Hill drowned after getting into difficulty in the water at Liquid Leisure in August 2022. Newly-released council documents show it did not have permission to be a party venue or children's play centre. An inquest last month recorded a verdict that the schoolgirl was unlawfully killed. A new report from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's planning committee has revealed there was also no permission in place for the site to be used as an aqua theme park. The inquest in Reading found Kyra had been unlawfully killed as a result of gross breaches in health and safety at the park. The water park was also fined £80,000 in June last year for health and safety failures. Liquid Leisure was originally granted planning permission to be used for water-skiing and wind surfing in 1988. A planning enforcement notice issued to the company in December 2020 accused it of several planning breaches. It said these included the 'material change of use of the land' to a 'mixed use' comprising an 'aqua theme park', 'caravan and camping site', 'party venue' and 'child's play centre.' The BBC reported that Liquid Leisure appealed to the Government's Planning Inspectorate in February 2021 to overturn the enforcement notice, arguing that many of the activities were covered by the permitted use and that the council's theme park description was inaccurate. The firm withdrew its appeal in September 2022, following the death of Kyra who lived in Croydon with her family. The council also issued Liquid Leisure a breach of condition notice in October 2021, concerning breaches in its original planning permission restricting the erection of buildings and extensions. An application for retrospective planning permission for elements of the water park was submitted in February 2024. The council's development management committee will consider this application on Thursday. The application is to keep water-skiing on the southern lake and to use the northern lake for open water swimming, paddle-boarding and a small aqua park. A planning officer's report to be considered by the committee said that the new arrangements would 'reduce the scale of activities' and recommends that councillors vote to approve it. The report states that it will not cause issues relating to public safety provided the correct precautions are carried out in the operation of the site as required by health and safety legislation. A council spokesman said that the current enforcement notice had been partially complied with but was still in place. The spokesman added: 'The outcome of the current planning application will inform the next steps.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
04-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Girl died at water park birthday party which did not have the right planning permission
A water park where an 11-year-old girl drowned did not have planning permission to host birthday parties, it has emerged. Kyra Hill drowned after getting into difficulty in the water at Liquid Leisure in August 2022. Newly-released council documents show it did not have permission to be a party venue or children's play centre. An inquest last month recorded a verdict that the schoolgirl was unlawfully killed. A new report from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's planning committee has revealed there was also no permission in place for the site to be used as an aqua theme park. The inquest in Reading found Kyra had been unlawfully killed as a result of gross breaches in health and safety at the park. The water park was also fined £80,000 in June last year for health and safety failures. Planning breaches Liquid Leisure was originally granted planning permission to be used for water-skiing and wind surfing in 1988. A planning enforcement notice issued to the company in December 2020 accused it of several planning breaches. It said these included the 'material change of use of the land' to a 'mixed use' comprising an 'aqua theme park', 'caravan and camping site', 'party venue' and 'child's play centre.' The BBC reported that Liquid Leisure appealed to the Government's Planning Inspectorate in February 2021 to overturn the enforcement notice, arguing that many of the activities were covered by the permitted use and that the council's theme park description was inaccurate. The firm withdrew its appeal in September 2022, following the death of Kyra who lived in Croydon with her family. The council also issued Liquid Leisure a breach of condition notice in October 2021, concerning breaches in its original planning permission restricting the erection of buildings and extensions. An application for retrospective planning permission for elements of the water park was submitted in February 2024. The council's development management committee will consider this application on Thursday. The application is to keep water-skiing on the southern lake and to use the northern lake for open water swimming, paddle-boarding and a small aqua park. A planning officer's report to be considered by the committee said that the new arrangements would 'reduce the scale of activities' and recommends that councillors vote to approve it. The report states that it will not cause issues relating to public safety provided the correct precautions are carried out in the operation of the site as required by health and safety legislation. A council spokesman said that the current enforcement notice had been partially complied with but was still in place.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Kyra Hill death: Liquid Leisure had incorrect planning permission
A water park where an 11-year-old girl drowned during a birthday party did not have planning permission to be used as a party venue or child's play centre, council documents Hill got into difficulty in a designated swimming area at Liquid Leisure near Datchet, Berkshire, in August 2022.A new report from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's planning committee shows there was also no permission in place for the site to be used as an aqua theme park. An inquest last month found Kyra had been unlawfully killed as a result of gross breaches in health and safety at the park. Liquid Leisure has not responded to a request for comment. The water park was also fined £80,000 in June last year for health and safety Leisure was originally granted planning permission to be used for water-skiing and wind surfing in a planning enforcement notice issued to the company in December 2020 accused it of several planning said these included the "material change of use of the land" to a "mixed use" comprising an "aqua theme park", "caravan and camping site", "party venue" and "child's play centre". Liquid Leisure appealed to the government's Planning Inspectorate in February 2021 to overturn the enforcement notice, arguing that many of the activities were covered by the permitted use and that the council's theme park description was it withdrew its appeal in September 2022 following Kyra's council also issued Liquid Leisure a breach of condition notice in October 2021, concerning breaches in its original planning permission restricting the erection of buildings and application for retrospective planning permission for elements of the water park was submitted in February council's development management committee will consider this on application wants to keep water-skiing on the southern lake, and to use the northern lake for open water swimming, paddleboarding, and a small aqua park.A planning officer's report says this will "reduce the scale of activities" and recommends that councillors vote to approve report says it will "not cause issues relating to public safety provided the correct precautions are carried out in the operation of the site as required by health and safety legislation".A council spokesperson said the current enforcement notice had been "partially complied with" but was still in added: "The outcome of the current planning application will inform the next steps." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
