Police have confirmed that a four-year-old boy has died after a “serious medical incident” at Longleat Center Parcs this morning.
In a tweet Wiltshire Police said: “Sadly, it’s been confirmed that a four-year-old boy has died following an incident at Center Parcs Longleat Forest near Warminster shortly after 11am this morning (24/12).
“This is not being treated as suspicious. Our thoughts are with the boy’s family at this difficult time.”
A witness told The Sun the incident occurred near the wave pool at the popular holiday park.
Center Parcs UK confirmed the “serious incident” in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise at the park adding that it will provide further updates “when it’s appropriate to do so.”
The witness reported that a member of the public helped pull a boy from the water.
She said: “My daughter and son saw it as well – she’s quite upset.”
The tragedy comes as people across the UK prepare to celebrate Christmas amid ongoing strikes and travel chaos.
Rail passengers on Christmas eve had to rush to get the last trains before services came to a halt this morning as thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union walked out.
Services to Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central and Birmingham International from Euston were all delayed with a limited staff presence as travellers waited anxiously with their luggage on Saturday.
Student Kartik Aggarwal, 24, said he was “very irritated” after two services in a row were cancelled, meaning he faced missing a Christmas party in Birmingham.
Speaking at Euston alongside some of his family members, he told the PA news agency: “It’s been really bad. We were planning for a long time only to have two trains get cancelled with no notification.
“We came running but still nothing.
“I feel very irritated, like we’re wasting our time.”
READ MORE: Royal Mail workers told to ‘focus on parcels’ leaving Christmas cards
Border Force were also continuing to strike at six UK airports.
There was minimal disruption on the first day of the walkout on Friday as armed forces personnel were deployed to check passports, and passengers posting on social media shared a mixed bag of experiences on Christmas Eve.
A passenger at Manchester Airport said it was the “fastest I’ve ever got through” with “no queues anywhere” while someone who flew into Gatwick described “not one queue” adding that “for once it was a pleasure”.
The AA predicted that nearly 17 million cars would take to UK roads on Saturday, leading to severe congestion on major routes.
AA president Edmund King said: “We’re expecting Christmas Day to be quieter with shorter local journeys.
“On Boxing Day traffic will pick up again with approximately 15 million trips as people head out to see friends and family.”
