A SCOTS youngster was left screaming in pain and hospitalised after going swimming at a popular beach.
Tracy Mclean was horrified after white lumps started appearing all over her daughter Khloe’s body shortly after she was playing in Ayr South Beach on Sunday.
The four-year-old was rushed to Wishaw General Hospital in North Lanarkshire on Monday morning following the severe reaction.
The youngster, from Larkhall, South Lanarkshire, was left screaming in pain after suffering excruciating pain in her abdomen following her visit to the beach.
And her reaction to the water was so bad, Tracy described the Scots tot as looking “disfigured” from the bumpy rash.
Tracy contacted SEPA shortly after the incident and was told that the water gets tested daily and was deemed “good”.
However, Tracy feels that she was fobbed off by the environmental regulator and that she has been contacted by several families who shared similar experiences at the same beach.
Speaking today office worker Tracy, 30, said: “We got home and she fell asleep and after around 40 minutes woke up screaming in pain and was covered in the rash which this time was all over her feet and she couldn’t walk on them as she was saying it was too painful.
“The pain and rash kept coming and going but thankfully she’s not broken out or been in severe pain since late afternoon yesterday.
“Anyone that knows her or has heard us talking knows how wild and how much of a live wire Khloe is. I’ve never seen her so lethargic or ill in her life.
“We were in A&E from around 11.30am until around 5.30pm, we were sent home and if she worsened we were to return.
“Khloe has no known allergies, no one else has been ill in our circle or household and she did not eat, drink or touch anything new to her which is what is making us sure that she has been affected by the water just as others who have privately mailed myself have.
“We can only think that she has accidentally swallowed some of the water as she hasn’t eaten, drank or touched anything new to her and has no known allergies.
“Before this I’ve never known that the water could be unsafe or exactly what is being found in it and the amount of people who have said to me that this has given them more information about water quality I think can only be a positive thing.”
Tracy added: “After contacting SEPA and researching online Ayr beach is rated poor for water quality and has been for the past four years.
“If it is deemed poor again then it will be classed as not safe to bathe or swim in.
“I was horrified when I went onto the website and found out just how unclean the water is.
“No one, not even the doctors, seemed to know what caused this and I felt like we have been blown off by both SEPA and South Ayrshire Council Environmental Health.”
“I understand that the beach is a major part of the tourism and revenue for Ayrshire but we need to put human and animal life first.”
Khloe’s rash finally died down and she is currently recovering at home.
Tracy posted about the incident on Facebook on Wednesday to warn others about the potential risks from water at the beach.
She shared images of Khloe’s rash and added: “Photos aren’t the best on my phone but gives an idea of the state our poor girl was in.
“If you zoom in close enough to the one of her face she actually looks disfigured with all the white lumps.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) today said: “We have had no reports of pollution at Ayr (South Beach), and the water prediction at Ayr (South Beach) on Sunday 27 June 2021 was ‘Good’, which was displayed on our electronic signage.
“Anyone who is concerned about health issues following bathing should contact their local authority, which has responsibility for public health.”
SEPA’s response follows the bathing water being given a “poor” grade rating for the fourth year running.
Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown has urged members of the public to stay clear of social media posts and not the beaches.
She advised people to check water quality daily and claimed that the water quality is “good” up to 70 percent of the time.
