‘Piece of grit’ caused chemical leak at holiday park

All Haven holiday parks are inspecting the control systems of their swimming pools following a chemical leak at the Wild Duck Holiday Park in Norfolk.

The parks operator said that a day of ‘intense investigation’ at Wild Duck revealed that a piece of grit had entered the system that controls the amount of chlorine and disinfectant pumped into the pool, jamming the flow switch open.

"This resulted in a higher than acceptable amount of chemicals entering the pool," said general manager at Wild Duck, Simon Prictchard.

As a result, 40 guests were treated for breathing problems, 30 of them were hospitalised.

Haven said it was optimistic the pool would reopen yesterday (Tuesday), but has not yet confirmed if this was the case.

"While this is welcome news for the resort and holidaymakers, everyone at the park continues to concentrate their efforts on assisting and comforting those who were affected by the chemical leak. Team members have been liaising with those still undergoing treatment and others who have returned to the park," said a spokeswoman.

The park has been working with the local environmental officer, members of the fire and rescue services and technicians from Haven Holidays to identify the cause of the chemical leak on Sunday afternoon.

"I am delighted that we have identified the problem that caused the pool to be evacuated  and that our guests and families will soon be able to enjoy the facilities in the knowledge that everything is perfectly safe," added Pritchard.

"Our team of highly skilled and experienced technicians in the maintenance and mechanics of swimming pools arrived on Sunday evening and have been working closely with the Environmental Health officials and other safety officers.

"They have identified a problem with a flow switch in part of the pool’s chemical and circulation system. This controls the amount of chlorine and disinfectant that is pumped into the pool on a regular cycle.

"Unfortunately, a small piece of grit found its way into the switch and blocked it in the open position. This resulted in a higher than acceptable amount of chemicals entering the pool."

As an added precaution, leisure managers at all Haven Holiday resorts operating the same control systems in their pools are now carrying out similar inspections.

Pritchard said he would like to thank all his caravan owners and holidaymakers ‘for their outstanding efforts in quickly and orderly evacuating the pool and entertainment complex’ on Sunday afternoon.

"They were tremendous in their efforts to assist fellow holidaymakers who were temporarily overcome by fumes, and in helping our team members before the police and emergency services arrived."