Arbroath holiday park owner fined over death of 6-year-old boy
A holiday park operator has been fined £234,000 for health-and-safety breaches which were ''a significant factor'' in the death of a six-year-old boy.
Aidan Yule was playing in the main pool at the Red Lion Holiday Park in Arbroath, Angus, on June 18 2011 when his head slipped under the water.
CCTV footage showed that he was spotted less than a minute later but he was found unconscious.
Patrons attempted CPR and Aidan was rushed by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, but he was pronounced dead four days later.
Loch Earn Caravan Parks Limited, which owns the Seafront Leisure Centre and the Red Lion Holiday Park, pled guilty to contraventions of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 at Forfar Sheriff Court on Thursday, the Crown Office confirmed.
A joint investigation by Angus Council and the former Tayside Police found no risk assessment was done, little consideration had been given to potential risks, there was inadequate supervision in the pool and staff received no adequate safety training.
Gary Aitken, head of health & safety division, said: 'The measures that Loch Earn put in place were insufficient to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety of members of the public using its pool. The presence of a lifeguard on duty at the poolside would have reduced the likelihood of the incident occurring and the failure to have lifeguards in place is a significant factor in the incident and the resulting tragic death of a six-year-old boy. Hopefully, this sad incident will remind other pool operators that failure to fulfil their obligations in law can have tragic consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings. Pool operators need to read the relevant guidance and ensure that their safety arrangements match legal requirements.'
Brian Castle, partner in Digby Brown Solicitors' Dundee office, who represents a number of members of Aidan Yule's family, said: 'It is over five years since the tragic events which led to Aidan's death. Since that day, his family have sought answers to the many questions they have about what happened. It has been a long and difficult road. They have had little access to information while the possibility of criminal proceedings remained open. This guilty plea is a belated one but it does provide some considerable comfort to the family to learn that the caravan park operator is now accepting responsibility for Aidan's death. It is an immense relief that they will not have to relive the tragedy at a criminal trial. The family are hopeful of resolving the ongoing civil legal proceedings arising from the tragedy soon before trying to move on with their lives.'