Girl, 4, dies at Waterworld park

A four-year-old girl has died following an incident at a swimming pool at a leisure attraction, police have said.

Police were called to Waterworld, Festival Park, in Stoke-on-Trent, at about 16:20 BST to reports of a girl in a critical condition.

Staffordshire Police said members of staff there and paramedics treated the girl at the scene before she was taken to hospital, where she died a short time later. Her next of kin have been informed.

Det Ch Insp Lucy Maskew said: "We are now making inquiries and looking to establish the circumstances of the incident." She asked the public not to speculate in these early stages of the investigation.

The girls next of kin are being supported by specially-trained officers, police added.

Waterworld said the incident happened in the Lagoon area of its Aqua Park.

The girl was found unconscious and treated at the side of the pool by its lifeguard and management teams, it said in a statement on social media.

"They immediately provided CPR and called the emergency services, who arrived around 4:20pm," it said.

All other visitors were asked to quietly leave the pool.

"It is with great sadness that we learned of this little girls passing this evening," a Waterworld spokesperson added.

"All our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during these extremely difficult times.

"Waterworld is working closely with the authorities at this sad time."

Staffordshire Police asked anyone who witnessed the incident or had knowledge of it to call 101.

Waterworld added it would remain closed on Tuesday "out of respect for the young girls family".

Bookings for Tuesday would be automatically refunded, which could take up to five days.

The company asked that the public refrain from contacting the site during that time, and said it would be supporting its team members and the police investigation.

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