Northumberland man says 'pain was unreal' as he broke his leg at Center Parcs water slide
David Cannon was at Center Parcs in Whinfell Forest, Cumbria, when his leg was injured and said he thought he was 'going to drown'
by Stephen Topping, Sonia Sharma · ChronicleLiveA Northumberland man has described how his leg "snapped" while he was getting onto a water slide at Center Parcs.
David Cannon, from Felton, Northumberland, said the incident happened when he was trying to get onto the Canyon Ride at the Subtropical Swimming Paradise in Whinfell Forest, Cumbria, on June 5. The 64-year-old heard a "crack" and felt a pain at the very start of the slide. Unable to move and with the flow of the water beneath him, David had to complete the slide with his leg "flopping" along the way.
He said: "The pain was unreal. At that point I'm on the slide, I can't go back. It felt like the longest slide in the world. I had to pull myself at either side with my arms, going down like an idiot to stop my leg hurting any more.
"I had no control at that point. It had snapped. My leg was flopping around, I couldn't move it. It was absolutely unbelievable. How I was going to get to the bottom was beyond me - I thought I was going to drown.
David says he had used the other slides at the Center Parcs pool with no issues before giving the Canyon Ride a go with his 14-year-old step-daughter. He watched how she had set off before trying to copy her technique, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Although there were information signs about the ride, David claims there was no clear guidance on how to lower yourself onto the slide. He says the handrail on the left-hand side was also in an awkward position to use while lowering himself, although Center Parcs say all the adequate safety features are in place.
Once he reached the end of the slide, David crawled out of the pool using the steps. He says the lifeguard did not see he was struggling until his step-daughter spoke to him for help, before a Center Parcs medical team assessed him.
He said: "They could only do so much. They sat me on a chair just outside the [pool] steps, where people could walk around. People were staring at me."
David says he waited for two hours in the same spot before an ambulance took him to Cumberland Hospital, in Carlisle. He waited in A&E for five hours, still wearing his swimming shorts, before an X-ray revealed he had broken his femur.
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He was transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, nearer to his home in Felton. He remained in hospital for six days, having his leg pinned and plated, and says he could not put any weight on his left leg for eight weeks after the incident happened.
David wants to see Center Parcs make changes to the ride to make sure his injury cannot happen to someone else.
A spokesperson for Center Parcs said: "We understand that this must have been a distressing and painful experience for Mr Cannon, but we would like to reassure him that we have checked all the safety features of this particular element of our Subtropical Swimming Paradise, including the handrails that are in place to aid entry to the ride.
"We take the health and safety of our guests and colleagues extremely seriously and we are confident that we have the appropriate measures in place throughout the Subtropical Swimming Paradise."
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