Described as 'kind and 'loving' with an 'infectious' laugh, Luca Hurle drowned after getting into difficulty at Old Park Wood caravan park near Grange.

Holker Estates Ltd and health and safety company Newmac have now been fined in relation to health and safety breaches following his death.

They were sentenced at Preston Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard how Luca, from Newport in Wales, had been staying at the holiday park with his father and family friends in August 2016.

On August 8 Luca was swimming in the park's pool with armbands alongside his dad Gavin Hurle and other children.

At one point a parent at the side of the pool noticed they could no longer see Luca.

Mr Hurle found his son at the bottom of the pool and pulled him out.

Unconscious, Luca was taken to a nearby hospital and later transferred to Alder Hey children's hospital, where he died.

The court was told an alarm by the pool could only be heard in a small area and CCTV cameras in the site's office were not in use. 

Following his death questions were raised over the safety of the pool.    

The court was told there was a steep gradient where the shallow end of the pool passed into the deep end that could have posed a risk of dragging non-swimmers into the deep water by accident.

Signage by the pool was said to have told swimmers the gradient was half as steep as it really was. 

Investigations uncovered how potential safety risks had not been addressed in the years prior to Luca's death.

'We remember him every day'

In moving impact statements, parents Mr Hurle and Amanda Collins described their struggle to cope with the loss of their 'energetic' and 'loving' son.

Mrs Collins, who read her statement in court, described how she experienced 'flashbacks' and was 'reliving the trauma' every year.

She described a child with a 'gorgeous smile and an infectious laugh'.

Mr Hurle said: "With the loss of Luca my life and the life of my family will never be the same.

"It's impossible to put into words the impact losing Luca has had.

"Luca was an energetic, loving and kind boy whose smile and laughter was contagious.

"We remember him every day and see him in our dreams.

"But we are left with a gaping hole in our heart that is and will continue to be impossible to fill."

Mr Hurle said he would 'never get to see him see him become the amazing teenager, parent and grandparent that he would've been'. 

"I will never be the man I was," he said. "The best of me has gone."

At an earlier hearing, Holker Estates pleaded guilty to failing to conduct an undertaking in such a way to ensure that people not in its employment were not exposed to risks to their health and safety and failing to comply with an improvement notice.

The landowner was fined £127,500 and ordered to pay £27,402 in costs.

Newmac admitted failing to discharge general health and safety duties to a person other than an employee at Old Park Wood caravan park.

The company conducted risk assessments for Holker Estates. It was fined £11,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.

Andrew Newbold at an earlier hearing in Barrow

The prosecution was brought by South Lakeland District Council.

After the hearing, Mrs Collins sentencing said: "Today corrects the public perception that what happened to my son was an accident, and acknowledges the failings of the parties that had a legal and public obligation to keep him safe," she said.

"This has been the darkest time of my life, and yet my son’s light still shines brightly.

"I want to thank SLDC, and everyone else involved for their exceptional work to get this result, and who cared about justice for Luca as much as I do."