A BRIT was left with a whopping £1,400 hospital bill after smashing head-first into steps on a waterslide.
James Dudley, 30, was speeding down the twister racer slide at Tenerife‘s Aqualand Costa Adeje when he broke his nose.
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The medical student from Swansea had gone down the slide without incident twice before on that day.
But it was third time unlucky for James as he gathered too much speed and crashed into some steps head first.
He and his fiancée flew to Tenerife from Bristol last week for a romantic getaway.
They arrived at the waterpark on April 22 and went straight to the Twister – a four-lane slide.
James went up and down twice but, on his third time, he felt himself going noticeably quicker than before.
He then skidded to the end of the landing area at the bottom and smashed his face on the slide’s steps.
James said: “You use a mat to slide down and you go face first.
“The previous two times, the water at the bottom had slowed me down as it was supposed to.
“But I travelled much faster on my third go and flew down into the trough at a rapid pace – breaking my nose in the process.
“I smashed head-first into the steps at the end of the trough and the top step caught my face and I broke my nose.
“Blood immediately started gushing out into the water and onto the mat – it looked like something out of a horror movie.
“I eventually caught the attention of one of the lifeguards, and a medic came over, who then wheeled me into the first aid room.
“They decided I needed treatment so they refunded our entry tickets and booked me a taxi to the nearest hospital.”
James was treated for his injuries at a nearby hospital, where they carried out X-rays and stopped the bleeding from his nose.
He had also badly bruised his torso from the impact but escaped with no broken ribs.
James was discharged but was handed a £1,413.57 bill from the hospital which his insurance has since covered.
But he said the accident ruined the end of their holiday – and he’s expecting compensation from Aqualand.
James said: “X-rays showed I had a broken nose and bad bruising, and after a lengthy phone call with my travel insurer, I was able to get the costs covered.
“I was given a prescription for the pain, and told not to do any sunbathing – which was disappointing considering we were on holiday.
“So far Aqualand have only offered a ticket refund, but I don’t feel that’s not enough to compensate what happened.”
Aqualand Costa Adeje and its parent company were approached for comment.
It comes after a woman was left with near-fatal blood loss after a water slide accident forced water inside her body leaving a seven-centimetre tear in her uterus at the same park in 2019.
Toni Steedman claimed she nearly died after being rushed to hospital and says she was given three blood transfusions before doctors bought a defibrillator to her bedside.
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