Dib dib dib, ROB ROB ROB??

[mc_squared]

'Ugly' scenes at scout jamboree as parents are charged £10 health and safety fee to pick up their children

 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 2:50 PM on 26th September 2008

 

• Comments (39)
  
• Add to My Stories
  

A scout camp jamboree descended into 'ugly' scenes after hundreds of parents were ordered to pay £10 to pick their children up - because of a health and safety policy.

Furious parents ended up in a heated row with organisers of the Annual Devon Scout Camp over the fee, which was to cover costs for monitoring cars coming and going at the Woodlands Leisure Park.

They had dropped their children at the jamboree last Friday but were told they had to pay the £10 health and safety charge at the gates when they returned on Sunday to pick them up.

 

Scout-rageous: Youngsters were forced to haul their kit out of Woodlands Leisure Park, in Devon, after parents refused to pay a £10 charge

 

But when they refused, they were forced to stay outside the camp - leaving their children to haul their kit up a half-mile driveway.

Parents said hundreds of youngsters aged 11-17 were 'milling around' the car park and driveway and described the situation as 'very dangerous'.

Several scout officials and dozens of parents were locked in heated arguments with park staff who refused to back down.

Scout Leader Steve Drake, of Ivybridge, said the situation was 'absolute chaos' with the arguments 'heated and quite ugly'.

He said: 'They changed their entrance policy in the space of two days and parents were stunned by the sudden demand for cash.

'It was a dangerous situation, I've never known anything like it. It was chaos and very dangerous for all the children.

'Why the situation changed from Friday and Saturday, when parents drove into the park to drop off their kids with camping gear, I have no idea.

'But on Sunday they were told they couldn't enter without paying £10. It was utter madness.

'We had trouble keeping track of where children were. They told us it was for health and safety but it was even more dangerous than it should have been.

 

'We called for the assistant manager but he wouldn't budge.'

One parent fumed: 'It was disgusting. I think someone forgot to charge us on Friday and then they wanted the cash on Sunday.

'There could easily have been an accident.

 

'I can't understand how they can claim it was for health and safety reasons when it actually created danger.'

Sally Williams, a spokesman for Woodlands, said charging for parking is in line with their health and safety policy.

She said: 'This is the park's normal policy. People can't go through with their cars without paying the entrance fee.

'It is a health and safety issue and has been in place for years. It's definitely not a new thing.

'Parents were told as they arrived on Sunday this was the policy. Our staff have to uphold the rules of the park and have to maintain them no matter what.'

The Woodlands Leisure Park is set in 60 acres of countryside, with indoor activities and wildlife attractions.

[busybeeburns]

heave-ho young Billy!