Waterworld visitors report nausea and eye irritations

Two people have been taken to hospital after a water park was evacuated due to visitors reporting nausea, as well as irritated eyes and throats.

Emergency services were called to Waterworld on Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent, just before 14:00 BST.

One hundred and ten people were evacuated, 46 of whom had treatment from paramedics, the ambulance service said.

A man and woman were taken to hospital for checks, a spokesman said.

Georgina Middleton was at the leisure centre when it was evacuated and said: "Everyone was coming out with coughs and sneezes and itchy skin, so they took everyone out and checked them over.

"I'm OK, I've just got a bit of a cough and a sneeze myself and I feel a bit dizzy."

Adam Gratton, at the scene for BBC Radio Stoke, said people had reported a smell of chlorine so overpowering people were retching.

An air ambulance had also been at the scene and West Midlands Ambulance Service deployed its hazardous area response team.

Mike Roberts, from Chester, said his wife and two sons were among those evacuated.

"Staff were being sick, people had burning eyes," he said.

"My wife pulled the boys out of the pool and when she got outside she saw emergency services outside.

"They have been checked over by paramedics and my son was asked if he wanted to go to hospital.

"I was very concerned, I left work straight away in case I needed to get to Stoke," he said. "They're OK though, they're on their way home."

The leisure centre called the response by the emergency services a "huge over-reaction" and said the incident had been "completely blown out of proportion".

A small number of reports of irritation had been made and staff were dealing with the situation with no need for outside help, a Waterworld spokesman said.

Tests have so far not shown any harmful substances in the water with air samples showing normal levels of chlorine gas but the centre will be closed on Thursday as a precaution, they added.

Staffordshire Police said a portion of Festival Way had been closed to allow for emergency access.

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