ANOTHER victim of an accident at Princes Club as a child warned that the water centre was a tragedy waiting to happen, almost 10 years before the death of Marie-Simon Cronjie last week.
Jade Rayner, landlady of Ashby's pub in Uxbridge Road, West Ealing, still has regular surgery and suffers from nightmares after being hit in the mouth by a surfboard, when she was 13. Her two front teeth were smashed.
Ms Rayner, 22, believes staff neglect meant she could have suffered an even worse fate.
"I was with a group of about 15 to 20 on an evening out run by Council. I was riding a board and being pulled along the water by holding on to a wire running from a building above me. I fell off but didn't let go straight away and carried on without the board. By the time I let go the board came and hit me in the face," she said.
"I remember lots of water and being overcome, but managed to get to the bank and out of the water. There was a lot of blood and I walked for what seemed like forever, but must've been about seven or eight minutes, back to the club house. I remember someone trying to put ice on the nerves hanging out of my teeth.
"I still have nightmares - what if the banks were a little higher and I couldn't get out? What if the board had hit me in the head and knocked me unconscious? There was no one there to see the accident, no one even noticed I'd been missing when I got back to the clubhouse."
Her mother was called and she took her to Hammersmith Hospital.
The initial damage was repaired by veneers but further complications involving infection has led to extensive root canal work, the most recent operation taking place earlier this year.
Ms Rayner says the operations have cost thousands of pounds and she still may have to have teeth implants if they do not work.
She added: "Both Princes and Council denied responsibility, then a year later, the council's insurance paid for the first operation, saying the rest is cosmetic.
"I was neglected on the day and have been pushed under the carpet ever since. Something needs to be done about safety at the centre - people's lives are at risk."
No one from Princes Club was available to comment.
A Council spokesman said: "Our claims team dealt with Miss Rayner's case at the time, duly awarding what was considered adequate compensation for the incident." ..
