A family was left horrified after their trip to Blackpool, where they claim their toddler found a 'drug addict's needle' in the bathroom of their hotel.
Shane Wilkinson, 33, was suspended in even more shock when staff at the hotel denied that the needle could have been in their room, accusing him of planting it and kicking his family out.
The family of four decided to take a last minute getaway to The Avari Hotel on Friday, 11th February, but were unpleasantly surprised when they checked in.
The father-of-two was taken aback when his three-year-old son came pulled an uncapped needle out from behind the toilet in the ensuite bathroom.
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Shane claims that after he addressed the issue with hotel staff, he was accused of placing the needle there himself and was asked to leave.
While the hotel's manager has confirmed that he does believe Shane's family 'set the hotel up', he denies claims that he kicked them out of their room.
Booking.com has since removed the hotel from their website pending an investigation.
Shane, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, said: "It was a spur of the moment thing on Friday night to book a night away. Obviously if it was planned I would've looked into the hotel more but I literally finished work, got changed and we packed the car and went.
"For the price we paid I knew it wasn't going to be cracking but I didn't think it was going to be that bad until we got there. My son went to the toilet and found it [the needle] - he came out holding it saying 'look mummy and daddy, look what I've found'. I took it off him and asked him where he found it and he said behind the toilet in the bathroom."
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After checking their son to make sure he didn't prick himself with the needle, Shane and his wife went down to speak to staff about the find.
"The guy working on the desk called up the manager and I heard him say down the phone 'well give him his money back and tell him to f-off out of my hotel then'. The two lads working there said 'we've watched them clean that room and that wasn't there, it's yours.'"
Shane continued: "I told them it wasn't mine - I've got a family, why would I want to put that around my kids."
After the dispute, the dad shared what happened on social media to warn other families about the incident and vows to never return to the hotel.
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The Avari Hotel manager said: "I cleaned the room myself and there was no needle located in the bathroom or the bedroom. I checked right at the back where the toilet and sink is and there was nothing there. It definitely wouldn't have been missed.
"They could've brought it in themselves to try and set the hotel up and that's what I reckon has gone on.
"I did not tell him to leave the building. I phoned up the owner about the situation and he said for me to give him a refund so I automatically gave him a refund. We don't have recovering addicts staying here, it's a family orientated hotel."
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Booking.com have since fully reimbursed the couple and removed the hotel from their site as they investigate the matter.
A spokesperson for Booking.com said: "We were disappointed to hear of this customer's experience with a property booked on our platform. While we investigate further - this property is now closed and will not be able to take further bookings via our website.
"We have apologised to the guests for their experience and provided a full refund, as well as covering the additional transport and room costs they incurred, and will be providing a gesture of goodwill to put towards a future trip."
Lancashire Police were contacted for comment.
Topics: News
Ali Condon