The son of a woman who died after an air conditioning unit fell on guests at a popular UK caravan park still wants answers five years on from her death.
Wendy Jones, who sustained injuries during the collapse, had been visiting Brean Sands Holiday Park in 2019 when the incident took place.
Police say a post mortem found a clear link between her death and the injuries she sustained. The grandmother, who died on August 4 2019, had been at the site’s entertainment centre – the Fun Factory – when the ducting and part of the ceiling collapsed onto families below.
In total, 18 people were injured in the collapse. Mrs Jones spent six months in hospital following the incident before she died.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the incident involved the collapse of approximately 40m (131ft) of structural ducting and ceiling sections, exposing live damaged electrics. The site is operated by Britannia Hotels.
Now James Harvard-Jones – the son of Wendy Jones – has said Pontins should be “held to account” over the incident.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I’ve been told it sounded like an explosion. My mum was underneath the debris, crushed.”
In the five years since the incident, Mrs Jones’s family has never received any correspondence from Britannia Hotels head office.
Mr Havard-Jones said: “They could’ve shown some humility, some decency, some humanity.”
In a statement, Pontins owners said: “It has not been appropriate for us to seek to locate and engage with Mrs Jones’s family at this time.”
Avon and Somerset Police investigation into her death is continuing. A spokesman said: “Detectives remain open-minded about the cause of the ducting collapse and continue to provide updates to Mrs Jones’ family about what is an extremely complex inquiry.”
According to the BBC, the force confirmed corporate manslaughter, health and safety and gross negligence offences were being considered.
Reports suggest Britannia’s head office had been warned that the ceiling’s safe load may have been exceeded and that there was a risk of collapse three years prior to Mrs Jones’s death.
In a statement, owners said the ventilation duct fell because of the failure of some internal fixings that had been installed years before Britannia bought the site. The company said the fixings were not capable of being seen on visible inspections and regular checks by the head of maintenance revealed no maintenance issues.
Staff were said to be “dismissed” when bringing up concerns with management over what they saw as a health and safety issue.
Britannia Hotels has been approached for comment.
