Latest news with #LiquidLeisure
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Scottish Sun
I watched my little girl take last breaths in pool of bubbles as she drowned at water park party… lifeguard didn't help
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 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. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Kyra's grieving parents described the moment they lost their daughter Credit: Good Morning Britain / X 7 Kyra, 11, vanished in August 2022 while at a leisure centre birthday party Credit: PA 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 Kyra's dad, Leonard, described watching footage of his daughter take her last breaths Credit: Good Morning Britain / X 7 Kyras mum, Heather, is calling for safety at leisure centres to be improved Credit: Good Morning Britain / X 7 An inquest ruled that Kyra's tragic death was unlawful Credit: PA 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 Kyra's parents said the youth had ambitions to become a footballer Credit: PA
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I watched my little girl take last breaths in pool of bubbles as she drowned at water park party… lifeguard didn't help
The devastated father watched on as a lifeguard failed to save his daughter's life FINAL MOMENTS 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. Advertisement 7 Kyra's grieving parents described the moment they lost their daughter Credit: Good Morning Britain / X 7 Kyra, 11, vanished in August 2022 while at a leisure centre birthday party Credit: PA 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. Advertisement 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." Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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 Kyra's dad, Leonard, described watching footage of his daughter take her last breaths Credit: Good Morning Britain / X 7 Kyras mum, Heather, is calling for safety at leisure centres to be improved Credit: Good Morning Britain / X Advertisement 7 An inquest ruled that Kyra's tragic death was unlawful Credit: PA 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. Advertisement 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." Advertisement 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. Advertisement The park's owner was fined £80,000 in June 2024. 7 Kyra's parents said the youth had ambitions to become a footballer Credit: PA
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
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'We watched our girl take last breath on CCTV after terrifying phone call'
The parents of a girl who drowned in a swimming pool have emotionally recalled watching her last breath on CCTV footage more than two years on from her tragic death that took place at a birthday party The parents of a girl who drowned in a swimming pool have emotionally recalled watching her last breath on CCTV footage. Kyra Hill was just 11 when she swam into a wrongly marked area during a birthday party at Liquid Leisure near Windsor, Berkshire in 2022 and a frantic search around the area ensued, only to find that the little one had gone under. Her parents, Heather Parker and Leonard Hill, made an appearance on Thursday's edition of Good Morning Britain to remind the nation of their story, and her father insisted that there was some initial 'hope' that she had been abducted, only because that would mean she was still alive. While the footage that emerged after the fact confirmed the girl's terrible fate to the parents, they it was then that they were able to see the bubbles that turned out to be the tragic last breaths of their daughter. He told hosts Richard Madeley and Charlotte Hawkins: "It gave us the story, the first part is that watching it over and over again from the beginning, you see the area where Kyra had sunk was not searched until the very end and so all other areas were searched a[part from the place she was seen going under, which was deep water. Nearly 15 ft, but it was marked shallow water." It comes after reports of a dad's desperate phone call moments before explosion kills him and his daughters. "You would hope there was more chance of her being abducted than there was more chance of survival than the period of time that she was under that water. Watching the CCTV, it's hard to believe that there was confusion as to where she was, her position was pinpointed at the time and I've watched the CCTV and I've seen her last breath. I can see a lifeguard standing and I can see her last breath, bubbles. She's come out, alerted someone on the radio, how is it her location hasn't been located?" Kyra would've turned 15 on 18th August and her mother also made a bold statement as she recalled the horror moment that something had gone wrong at the party, and she simply couldn't believe that the little one would 'go missing' when she was simply in the water. She said: "I think that when I got the call it was 'Kyra's missing...' and obviously I was like 'Where is she missing?' And it was the water, but you can't go missing in the water. You drown, you don't go missing!" She later remembered how Kyra was a keen footballer, but had a backup plan to become a lawyer. Richard Madeley pointed out to viewers that they had contacted the water park for comment, but claimed that they had not responded. Viewers of ITV's morning show were left 'heartbroken' upon rediscovering the tragic story, and one wrote on X: "I can't understand how a LIFEGUARD trained underwater or not, would not attempt to save a drowning child? If this is the case, heads should roll. Those poor parents, whilst another admitted they couldn't "imagine anything worse" than what those parents had seen. A 17-year-old lifeguard spotted her going under and searched that part of the water before leaving to alert staff but 37 minutes passed between Kyra struggling and 999 being called, Berkshire Coroner's Court heard. Kyra was seen going under the water at 3.20pm and emergency services were called to the scene at 3.57pm. The 11-year-old was found just after 5.10pm and she was rushed to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, where she was pronounced dead. The inquest heard what happened at the water park in those minutes and hours after Kyra vanished. The Coroner's Court was told the 15 metre by 19 metre beach area was not cleared of people until emergency crews arrived. It was later determined that the girl was 'unlawfully killed' during the incident. Watersport manager David Novell ordered searches on land and in other parts of the lake, but not in the designated swimming zone where she disappeared, the hearing was told. Conflicting and incorrect information started to circulate at the water park, including that Kyra left the water or swam to various locations. Novell told the inquest the first-responding lifeguard, named Abbi, appeared "confused" and was "unsure as to what exactly had occurred", given the contradicting reports that Kyra had exited the water. However, Abbi, then a schoolgirl, dived three times in the area where Kyra disappeared and CCTV showed her pointing there during a conversation with Novell and Liquid Leisure owner and director Stuart Marston. A mother looking for Kyra said loud music was playing and that she shouted at a senior member of staff to turn it off. Kelly Edwards, who was at the birthday party, said she had to tell staff to ask members of the public to leave the area. Edwards said the lifeguard, who appeared a "little girl", also told her daughter to keep searching for Kyra in the water. The mother said: "She (Kyra) was seen in the water, and for myself and for us we were told she was missing, so we were looking on the land, and to know someone had seen her and said 'I've seen someone gone down in the water', and for her not to be listened to. I couldn't, can't get my head around it." She added: "It just felt like I was in this nightmare, the sort of thing you watch on the TV and you, you think, well, that would never happen." The administration services manager recalled "shouting, screaming Kyra's name" as she walked around the park. She became emotional as she told the inquest: "It just seemed that nothing was taken seriously, nothing was deemed as an emergency, and I feel so angry with myself every day that I came out (of the water) and no-one went to the children and asked them where Kyra was."
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.
