Owner of land need not give details of obvious risks to visitors - 22/12/2009
A two-year old boy staying at a caravan holiday site drowned when he and his brother climbed over the rails and fencing surrounding a pond on the site, while his mother chatted to another holiday maker. The owner provided a plan of the site to all visitors showing the location of lakes, ponds, a river and the beach on the site.
The court decided that the owner of the site was negligent because it had failed to draw specific attention to the pond, and the ways a person might gain access to it, and had not provided a specific warning against the risks of going there without a companion. This amounted to a breach of the owner's duty of care to visitors.
On appeal, the Court of Appeal disagreed. It said that the owner was under no obligation to bring the precise location of the pond to visitors' attention, or the pathways to it. The dangers of ponds and other water to small, unaccompanied children was obvious and the plan made clear where they were so parents and others could take special care.
Recommendation
Landowners should review their procedures and their information and signage regularly where there are ponds or other water on their land, to ensure they meet the duty of care required of them.
Case ref: Bourne Leisure Limited (T/A British Holidays) v Marsden (on behalf of the Estate of M Marsden Deceased) [2009] ECWA Civ 671
