A furious family-of-four have vowed never to return to Waterworld after their trip ended up with an unexpected visit to the A&E.
Ashley and Jessica Curwood have spoken of their "nightmare" experience at the water park in Stoke-on-Trent where they splashed out £60 on tickets, £3.50 on parking, and £2.50 on a locker after travelling from their home in Giltbrook.
Their trip on Sunday (February 27) was an early birthday treat for five-year-old daughter Annabelle, who instead was rushed to the Queen's Medical Centre later on the same day.
The family said they suffered sore eyes and chesty coughs within 15 minutes of getting into the water in the morning due to the chlorine levels. They say other families had similar complaints, reports StokeonTrent Live.
Waterworld, however, said there were no health and safety breaches.
The family had arrived at the Festival Park attraction at 10am and got into the water at 10.30am.
Ashley, aged 32, said: “Our eyes were stinging really badly and there were quite a few people coughing. We looked at the lifeguards and their eyes looked like they were streaming. They were going in the first aid box and getting the eye wash out to wash their eyes.
“I spoke to one of them and asked what was happening. They said something had happened with one of the pumps and there was too much chlorine in the water.
“Your eyes always sting when you go to a swimming pool but this was quite extreme. You were constantly rubbing your eyes. We had to go and wash them out with water. It was mainly my daughter we were worried about.”
Ashley added: “We were advised to go out of the pool for half an hour, wash our eyes out, and try not to go under the water. We tried to carry on but it was getting quite bad.
“Our daughter started coughing a lot and she said her chest was hurting. She went and sat on the side, I got her a drink of water. She was upset and didn’t want to go back into the water.
“I spoke to a member of staff at around 12pm and they said we had been in here for a few hours so they couldn't do anything about it in terms of a refund. He said they could offer us some mini-golf tickets or change our pass so we could stay all day.
“I spoke to my wife and my daughter but she didn’t want to stay in the pool. We said we will do mini-golf. But when we got changed and everything my daughter said she didn’t want to do that, she wanted to go home. We told them we didn’t want to do it anymore.
"We were told it was either mini-golf or tickets to come back another day. We didn’t want to come back. I’m not happy about it."
The couple later called NHS 111 and Annabelle was advised to go to A&E.
Ashley added: “My wife was in there for about three-and-a-half hours which was longer than you got in the pool. They said she was not in any danger but they confirmed it was 'chlorine gas poisoning'.
“We have to watch her for the next few days and make sure her breathing is fine and that she is not coughing up blood.”
The angry dad told Nottinghamshire Live: "We have been there a few times before but this has never happened.
"We will never ever go there again."
Ashley has made a complaint to Stoke-on-Trent City Council's trading standards.
He said: “As soon as we got her away from it she was feeling fine. I am massively disappointed with the company.
“We had an hour in the pool and the rest of the time we were out washing our eyes.
“If they had just apologised, here is your money back, and we hope you come back again; we probably would have.
“The main thing I wanted was my money back, it’s not cheap. It cost around £60 to go there. £3.50 for parking and then £2.50 for a locker.
“It takes about 55 minutes for us to get there. I said we don’t fancy coming back, it’s not a two minute drive for us. I’ve emailed the website to ask how I can make a formal complaint.”
Waterworld has been operating for 32 years and welcomed more than 13 million visitors. It had 2,000 customers on Sunday.
The company has declined to comment on the family's specific issues and complaints.
A Waterworld spokesman said: "All pool tests and operational plantroom procedures were followed and adhered to fully, as is the norm. There were no breaches in any health and safety protocols.
"As a business we ensure our customers are dealt with in a fair manner. We do our best to make sure all customers leave with a smile.
"We believe the manager on duty did all he could to address the situation and offer a remedy."
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