A FAMILY were left horrified after their toddler came across a “drug addict’s needle” in a hotel room while on holiday.
Shane Wilkinson, 33, his wife Karen Gillott, 43, and their children Skyler, six, and Grayson, three, checked into the hotel in Blackpool for a last minute break last Friday.
When little Grayson went into the bathroom, he came out wielding a bare needle – leaving his parents fearing he could have spiked himself.
After taking it down to the front desk at the Avari Hotel, Shane said he was refunded £35 before being “kicked out” along with his wife and young kids.
Shane said manager believed the couple planted the needle to “set the hotel up”, claiming that they checked the bathroom himself before they arrived.
The dad told YorkshireLive: “I was very angry that I’d come away with my family and was getting accusations like that and that he was implying it was mine.
“My son is too young to understand what it is and my daughter is disabled so she doesn’t understand do’s and don’ts.
“So we’re just thankful it wasn’t her that found it because she probably would’ve caught herself with it.”
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.”
Booking.com has since reimbursed the couple and removed the hotel from their site while they investigate the incident.
