Case Summary: Aidan Yule (Sands)
Feb 07, 2021CASE SUMMARY
Aidan Caleb Yule (also known as Aidan Sands), from Dundee, Scotland, was six years old when his parents took him and his three siblings to the Red Lion Holiday Park at Arbroath, Scotland, on Saturday 18 June 2011 (BBC News, June 2011). Red Lion Holiday Park was owned and operated by Loch Earn Caravan Parks Limited along with the Seafront Leisure Centre. Within three hours of arriving at the park for their family holiday, Aidan would drown in the on-site swimming pool at Seafront Leisure Centre (Beatson, 2016).
Upon arriving at the holiday park on the afternoon of 18 June, the family had unpacked their bags and decided to use the on-site swimming pool at around 14:45. Aidan was a non-swimmer and was playing with his brother in the toddler pool whilst his mum Mandy swam in the main pool (BBC News, June 2011; Morris, 2016; BBC News, 2016). No lifeguards were provided on the poolside. Aidan, who was 1.16 metres tall, made his way from the toddler pool to the 1.2-metre-deep main pool with a pool noodle under his arm (Beatson, 2016; STV News, 2016).
Aidan and his family entered the main pool at around 15:00 (BBC News, 2016). Depute Fiscal Gavin Callaghan later re-told the court the events which followed (BBC News, 2016; Cox, 2016; Archibald, 2012):
As he held on to the pool edge the tube floated away from him. He reached out to grab it but missed, causing his head and body to go underwater. This was not noticed by anyone else at the pool at that time.
The CCTV captured Aidan going underwater for 51 seconds at which point Aidan’s brother became aware that he was under the water and pulled his head above the surface. Aidan’s brother alerted his mum who entered the water and lifted Aidan onto the poolside.
Aidan was not breathing and a male guest who was using the pool at the time performed CPR as the pool had no lifeguards and staff were not trained in CPR.
Eyewitness Sheila Allardice was at the pool with her granddaughter Daisy. She said (Archibald, 2012):
I was in the baby pool when I heard a woman shouting “help” and carrying her son in her arms. As we left the changing rooms he was still being worked on by paramedics. It was very upsetting.
Paramedics were able to resuscitate Aidan at the scene before taking him to Ninewells Hospital, still in a critical condition (BBC News, June 2011). Aidan had suffered neurological damage caused by the time he spent submerged underwater. The family had been informed that if Aidan recovered, he would be severely disabled and could be left blind. The injuries Aidan sustained resulted in his death four days later (12:00 BST, Wednesday 22nd June 2011) with his parents, Mandy and Kevin Yule, by his bedside (BBC News, June 2011; BBC News, 2014; Duguid, 2017).
Response to the incident
Thomas Hay, Aidan’s grandad, issued an emotional statement on behalf of the family (BBC News, June 2011; Archibald, 2012):
Aidan died at Ninewells Hospital intensive care ward in the loving arms of his parents, after failing to recover from his injuries.
His parents would like to thank the gentleman who assisted Aidan at the pool-side with first aid and CPR and the ambulance team and officers of Tayside Police who assisted in getting Aidan to Ninewells hospital as quickly as possible.
Also to the nursing staff and doctors at Ward 20 intensive care ward at Ninewells for their first-class care given to Aidan during his stay in hospital. The family would now like time to grieve in peace at this most difficult time.
As a family, we want to find out why he died and ask questions about staffing at the pool at the time of the incident.
After the incident, Nicola McCormack of the Red Lion Holiday Park said (Archibald, 2012; BBC News, June 2011):
It seems Aidan suffered some kind of medical episode and was underwater for a short while. This is currently the extent of our knowledge. Our thoughts are with the boy and his family.
Investigation
A joint investigation was carried out by Tayside Police and Angus Council's environmental health department (BBC News, June 2011; Archibald, 2012). Tayside Police said in 2012 that their investigation into Aidan's death remained ongoing (Archibald, 2012):
Emergency services attended at the Red Lion Caravan Park in Arbroath at about 15:00 on Saturday, in response to calls about a young boy who had got into difficulty in the swimming pool.
Aidan was tended to at the scene by paramedics before being taken in a critical condition by ambulance, under police escort, to hospital in Dundee. Tragically, he passed away at about midday.
An investigation by Angus Council's environmental health section and Tayside Police is ongoing and, as with all sudden deaths, a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal in due course.
The joint investigation by Angus Council and Tayside Police concluded that no risk assessment was done, little consideration had been given to potential risks, there was inadequate supervision in the pool, and staff received no adequate safety training (Cox, 2016; Morris, 2016; Burns, 2016; Lyon, 2016). They passed their case file to the Health and Safety Division of the Procurator Fiscal's Office.
Charging decision (Crown Office, June 2016)
Three years on from the incident, the Crown Office was still considering whether charges under the HSWA 1974 will be brought against Loch Earn Caravan Parks (BBC News, 2014). A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service confirmed it was still considering the case:
Police Scotland and Angus Council carried out a joint investigation, under the direction of COPFS, into the death of a six-year-old boy on the 22nd June 2011, after an incident on 18th June 2011 at the Red Lion Caravan Park. A prosecution report has now been submitted to the COPFS and remains under consideration by our health and safety division.
The Crown Office finally confirmed (in 2016, five years after the accident) that Loch Earn Caravan Parks Limited had been charged with breaches of the HSWA 1974 and would face trial in July 2016 (STV News, 2016).
A false start in Forfar’s Sheriff Court (15 June 2016)
Loch Earn Caravan Parks Limited appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court on Wednesday, 15 June 2016, charged with breaches of the HSWA 1974. The trial got off to a false start when Sheriff Pino di Emidio was forced to delay the trial, having discovered he knew one of the directors of Loch Earn Caravan Parks (STV News, 2016; Watt, 2016):
It is a matter of regret that it seems to be not appropriate for me to deal with the matter because not that long ago I was a close colleague to someone who was connected to one of the directors of the company. I must allow a Crown motion to desert the case after it emerged he knew one of the company’s directors.
I am very sorry that it didn't come to light until today. The name of a limited company gave no indication that it was someone that I knew. I have been asked by the Crown to desert the case pro loco et tempere and it is the Crown's intention to raise the case again, probably around mid-July. It seems to me best that someone else deals with it and I would express my condolences to the family over what happened in this case.
The Crown will re-raise proceedings in July.
Aidan’s father, Kevin Yule, said (STV News, 2016):
My family want to know why Aidan died. Until the Crown Office make its decision, our solicitor cannot get access to the statements given by witnesses, members of staff and police officers. The answers we are seeking lie in those statements.
The Court should have about known about this. I am really upset by this delay. It is ridiculous the trial has still not started five years after the death of my son. I just want it all over and done with.
R v Loch Earn Caravan Parks Limited (2016) (Unreported, Forfar Sheriff Court, 21 July)
The trial resumed at Forfar Sheriff Court on 21st July 2016. The company was charged on the basis that between 1 July 2007 and 18 June 2011, at the Seafront Leisure Centre, Red Lion Caravan Park, Dundee Road, Arbroath, it failed to ensure so far as was reasonably practicable that persons not employed by them who may have been affected were not exposed to risks to their health or safety (STV News, 2016). The company pleaded guilty to the offences as charged.
Defence advocate Barry Smith said (BBC News, 2016; Beatson, 2016; Cox, 2016; STV News, 2016; Watt, 2016):
My client admits failing to carry out a suitable risk assessment, failing to ensure the safety of all people using the pool, failing to ensure adequate supervision and failing to provide sufficient information and training to employees between the 1st of July 2007 and the 18th of June 2011.
I am expressly instructed to tender to Aidan’s family, on behalf of the company and all those associated with it, the sincere condolences of the company.
Procurator Fiscal Depute Gavin Callaghan said (Beatson, 2016; Cox, 2016; BBC News, 2016):
CCTV captured the boy going underwater for 51 seconds before he was pulled to the surface, dragged from the pool and had CPR performed on him by other swimmers.
Had the lifeguarding provision been in place on the date of the incident intervention would have taken place before the tragic consequences were allowed to develop. The provision of lifeguards would have reduced the likelihood of the incident occurring and the failure to have lifeguards in place is therefore a significant causal factor in the resultant death.
The pool had no lifeguards and staff were not trained in CPR and Aidan was rushed to hospital but died four days later from brain injuries caused by his near-drowning.
Sheriff Jack Brown said (BBC News, 2016; Beatson, 2016; Duguid, 2017):
The absence of lifeguards and a risk assessment continued for a period of some years and it may be that the absence of any other incident led to a false sense of security. A significant fine must be imposed. It goes without saying that no financial penalty will ever reflect the loss suffered by Aidan's family.
The Loch Earn Caravan Parks was fined £234,000. The initial fine was set at £350,000 and then reduced on the basis of the guilty plea (QLM, 2016; Morris, 2016; Burns, 2016; Beatson, 2016; BBC News, 2016; Duguid, 2017; Lyon, 2016).
Response to the hearing
Speaking outside court, Aidan's father Kevin Yule, said it had ripped our family apart (BBC News, 2016; STV News, 2016):
I'm glad the matter has been decided and the owners have accepted responsibility. The Sheriff has imposed a significant fine. It has ripped our family apart, not just my side, but both sides of the family.
Gary Aitken, Head of the Health and Safety Division at the Crown Office, said (Cox, 2016; Morris, 2016; Burns, 2016; Lyon, 2016):
The measures that Loch Earn put in place were insufficient to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety of members of the public using its pool.
The presence of a lifeguard on duty at the poolside would have reduced the likelihood of the incident occurring and the failure to have lifeguards in place is a significant factor in the incident and the resulting tragic death of a six-year-old boy.
Hopefully, this sad incident will remind other pool operators that fail to fulfil their obligations in law can have tragic consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings. Pool operators need to read the relevant guidance and ensure that their safety arrangements match legal requirements.
Brian Castle, Partner at Digby Brown Solicitors, who represented a number of members of Aidan’s family, said (Morris, 2016; Burns, 2016; BBC News, 2016):
It is more than five years since the tragic events which led to Aidan’s death. Since that day, his family have sought answers to the many questions they have about what happened. They have had little access to information while the possibility of criminal proceedings remained open.
This guilty plea is a belated one but it does provide some considerable comfort to the family to learn that the caravan park operator is now accepting responsibility for Aidan’s death. It is an immense relief that they will not have to relive the tragedy at a criminal trial. The family are hopeful of resolving the ongoing civil legal proceedings arising from the tragedy soon, before trying to move on with their lives.
Claim for personal injury
Aidan’s mum, Mandy Sands, had initially sought legal advice about bringing a claim for personal injury in the wake of Aidan’s death. This began a legal time limit of three years for the family’s solicitors to serve proceedings.
In February 2013, Aidan's mother, Mandy, tragically passed away aged 36. Mandy’s parents Tom and Kathryn, both aged 58, had to take over the civil case as executors of her estate after the death of their daughter. The family filed a claim for £50,000.
Brian Castle, a partner at law firm Digby Brown's Dundee office, confirmed he was representing the family in a case at the Court of Session (BBC News, 2014; Duguid, 2017):
I can confirm that Digby Brown represented the family in this matter in a Court of Session action.
It has been a long and difficult road. The family have had little access to information while the possibility of criminal proceedings remained open. We have been determined and committed in helping the family get answers to the many questions they had about what happened.
The circumstances of this case are deeply tragic. The civil proceedings we brought have now been settled, six years on after Aidan tragically lost his life at the Red Lion Holiday Park in June 2011.
References (20)
Note: I wish those affected all the best in their future. No part of this article purports to attribute blame. See our methodology page for further details of how these case summaries are constructed.
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BBC News. (2011). Aidan Sands dies days after Arbroath pool incident. (22nd June, 00:00). Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-13878581 accessed 12th January 2021.
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BBC News. (2014). Aidan Sands’ family sue caravan park owners for £50,000. (15th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-28802254 accessed 12th January 2021.
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BBC News. (2016). Sheriff withdraws from pool death trial. (16th June, 00:00). Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-36547339 accessed 12th January 2021.
Beatson, J. (2016). Holiday firm fined £234,000 after tragic death of six-year-old schoolboy. (Express, 21st July, 22:23). Available at: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/692046/Scotland-schoolboy-drowned-holiday-firm-fined-234000-six-year-old accessed 12th January 2021.
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Duguid, K. (2017). Scots firm settle £50k compo claim with family of tragic schoolboy Aidan Yule. (The Sun, 23rd December, 22:38). Available at: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010081/aidan-yule-family-50000-compo-claim-red-lion-caravan-park-arbroath/ accessed 12th January 2021.
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STV News. (2016). Company faces charges over six-year-old boy’s drowning. (15th June, 00:00). Available at: https://archive.news.stv.tv/archive/1357539-company-faces-charges-over-six-year-old-boy-s-drowning.html accessed 12th January 2021.
Watt, R. (2016). Arbroath holiday park death case deserted. (The Courier, 15th June, 15:48). Available at: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/angus-mearns/190802/arbroath-holiday-park-death-case-deserted/ accessed 12th January 2021.
Citation: Jacklin, D. 2021. Case Summary: Aidan Yule. Water Incident Research Hub, 7 February.
