A dad has slammed a holiday park after his young son fell down an "unsafe" man hole.
Ryan O'Neill, wife Lyndsey and their three children, from Norris Green, had been looking forward to their trip away to Haven's Marton Mere holiday park in Blackpool. But they claim just half an hour in, their trip became a "nightmare".
Three-year-old Jake fell into a "5ft manhole" close to the accommodation they were staying in, that Ryan said was "insecure" and had become "jarred". Jake was taken to the hospital to be checked over as Ryan was told by people on site it was a sewage drain.
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Jake suffered grazes to his chin, arms and legs as well as bruising, and Ryan said his young son has been "on edge" ever since his fall. He slammed the holiday park for their "lack of apology" and says more needs to be done to improve safety so this "doesn't happen to another child". He said: "I've spoken to the manager and they've told me to send an email to someone else.
"There's been no apology, nothing. It's disgusting the way we've been treated. We aren't ones to complain but it's disgusting and unprofessional. A kid was injured on their holiday park and they aren't bothered, it's like we've been palmed off and brushed under the carpet."
Ryan said when they left at 10am on Monday, the manhole was "still there unfixed" as he said if it can "happen to our kid, it can happen to any child, we want people to be aware." The dad-of-three added: "What if something worse happens?
"It put a dampener on the holiday, we were only there half an hour and then had to go the hospital. It's about making people aware. We aren't trying to exaggerate, we just want them to be aware. Our son is injured and it's had more of an impact on him than it would other children."
The 30-year-old said Jake has recently been diagnosed with autism and the incident has had a great impact on him. He added the family had come away for a break and to process the diagnosis but Jake was left feeling "edgy".
Ryan said: "He doesn't sleep much anyway but what happened on Friday made him worse over the weekend. He's dead edgy and when we were packing up the car to go home he wouldn't come out of the caravan because he knew the hole was there.
"It's not about compensation, it's about safety. Everyone should be able to go and have fun but it's not professional. We were told it could have been done by a lawnmower but it should've been reported and fixed.
"We won't go back to that site because of how we've been treated. I wouldn't say we will avoid Haven altogether unless they disregard our complaint, they need to show compassion."
The ECHO previously reported that Ryan said there was "no signage near to the manhole" and Jake's sisters were "traumatised", adding: "The girls went to me 'dad, me and Rosie thought Jake was gone forever'. No child should say that whatsoever, never mind six or seven years of age."
A spokesperson for Haven said: "We are aware of an incident involving a young guest at our Marton Mere park on Friday afternoon. We can confirm that nobody was seriously injured however our team advised the family to visit A&E as a precautionary measure.
"The safety and security of our guests, owners and team is our number one priority and we are investigating the incident as a matter of urgency. We continue to be in direct contact with the family."
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