Woman holidaymaker caught deadly Legion bug, court told

Karen Taylor, 53, caught the bug while on holiday at the former Pontins Holiday Centre in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, in July 2009.

She became ill when she returned to her home in Northfields, Birmingham, and was later taken to Selly Oak Hospital where she was placed on a ventilator.

But she developed pneumonia before she was diagnosed with the disease and died on August 29.

She had stayed in Chalet 229 at the holiday park with her husband – the same room where another woman had fallen ill months earlier, Preston Crown Court heard yesterday.

Margaret Coote, 63, from Chesterfield, complained of feeling unwell two days after first using the shower in the chalet during her week’s holiday. She later spent five weeks in hospital after suffering a heart attack and other symptoms of the disease, but recovered.

Pontins Ltd, which is in administration, is accused of breaching health and safety laws by putting holidaymakers and staff at risk of harm through the management of the water system at the camp.

Temperatures of water were such that it “promoted the proliferation of the bacteria”, said prosecutor Simon Parrington.

He told the court: “It is the Crown’s case that there were very serious failures on behalf of Pontins Ltd... and as a result Mrs Taylor and Mrs Coote, and no doubt many others, were exposed to risk of their health and safety.”

Mrs Coote stayed in Lytham with her sister and two other members of her family between March 16 and 20, 2009.

Environmental health officers from Fylde Borough Council visited the park after she was taken to hospital, where she was on a ventilator for four weeks, and pointed out concerns about the water temperatures from the boiler which led to the chalet.

Management at Pontins gave assurances that action would be taken, the prosecutor said. It was agreed the council would await a full report from the Health Protection Agency in July but before that was ready the second incident occurred involving Mrs Taylor, who visited with her husband between July 10 and July 19.

The Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC, told the jury a not guilty plea had been entered to two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 but the case was proceeding in the company’s absence.

“Pontins Ltd is a company in administration. It has ceased to trade with large debts and an administrator has been appointed,” said the judge.

It is understood the holiday group has since been bought by an investment group linked to a hotel chain and continues to operate under the Pontins name.

A health and safety assistant at Pontins Blackpool – which closed in October 2009 – told the court he flagged up his concerns about water temperatures from the boilers as early as October 2008.

Michael Ollerenshaw said monthly checks of hot water showed they were below the recommended temperature of 60C as the supply left boilers into the taps. He said he wrote a memo to his line manager and maintenance management but no action was taken.

At the end of the 2008 season he said the boilers were turned off in unoccupied chalets “to save money as far I could think of”, he added. He raised similar concerns again in May 2009.

The trial continues.