Kyra Hill: Girl was 'left to drown' at Liquid Leisure water park near Windsor, says bereaved father

'She was left to drown. Sad, so sad,' Kyra's father told ITV News

The bereaved father of a girl who died in a water park near Windsor said she was "left to drown" and claimed the operator could have done more to save her life.

Liquid Leisure in Windsor has been closed since the death of eleven-year-old Kyra Hill who got into difficulty in the water during a friend's party.

Kyra’s father, Leonard, told ITV News his daughter's life had been "ripped away" and he was determined to find out what went so tragically wrong.

'She was gone'

"When she was brought out the water there was no life in her, she was gone. I saw her laying lifeless, no pulse, no heartbeat , eyes rolling back, my daughter was dead," Leonard said.

"She was left to drown. Sad, so sad.

"That area of water, in my opinion, was the least searched area of water it was clear Kyra had gone down in that area.

"I think there was a lack of urgency shown. If the reaction time was faster she could have been saved - I'm 100% she could have been saved if the reaction time was faster," he added.

Liquid Leisure said it was "heartbroken" and its thoughts remained with the family and all those affected.

In a statement the company added: "We have been working closely with the various authorities to assist the ongoing investigation. As a result, we are limited in what we can say about the incident itself at this stage. "We can confirm that the incident took place in the designated swimming area of our lake, which always has a fully trained Royal Life Saving Society lifeguard on duty. "Liquid Leisure Windsor has been operating for over 20 years and has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors during that time. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our visitors."

'We're breaking down'

Leonard Hill said his family was still struggling to come to terms with what happened and Kyra's older sister, Blossom, still "screams out" in pain.

"It's sad times, we're breaking down. They were the closest of sisters and it's left a big void in Blossom's life, Leonard explained

"She cries, she screams out, she misses her sister. "Her mum is suffering. She is not well and has health problems this on top of it is making it even worse," he added.

Below: Harvinder Kaur, a solicitor at legal firm Fieldfisher told ITV News outlines the key questions the family wants answered

The local council has begun a health and safety investigation and said it was up to the individual business to comply with legislation.

The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead said it had stopped all activities on the lake until there were "suitable and sufficient risk assessments to prevent or reduce the risk of drowning".

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