Grieving parents thank ambulance

Matthew Marsden was found face down in a pond

The family of a toddler who died after falling into a pond have held a fundraising event to thank the Welsh Air Ambulance which tried to save him.

In August, Matthew Marsden from Buckley, Flintshire had wandered from his parents at Greenacres Caravan Park, near Porthmadog.

Ten minutes later his father Phillip found him floating in the pond.

Staff tried to resuscitate him before he was air-lifted to Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor where he died.

"It was the first day since we'd been on holiday, it was sunny and we were going to go out, we were outside the caravan talking to the family next door...in a matter of seconds we turned round and Matthew had gone, there was just panic," said his mother Tracey Marsden.

Phillip and Tracey Marsden want to thank the Air Ambulance

"We never, ever knew there was a pond there.

"Phil was trying to resuscitate him, he was running with Matthew and I was screaming 'Does anyone know how to do first aid'."

"We laid him down by our car and within minutes there were loads of people coming.

"The Air Ambulance came and the reason we're so grateful to them is because they got to hospital within minutes whereas Phil and I were stuck in traffic with the ambulance for about an hour."

Tracey and Phillip, an IT manager, have another son 16-month old Alex.

Guidelines

At the time of Matthew's death, North Wales Police said it was a tragic accident.

His father Phillip said the family have not yet had a date for the inquest into the toddler's death.

The couple have said they do not blame the holiday park for the accident, they did not have an obligation to fill the pond in or put more warnings in place.

However, Mrs Marsden said those preventative measures could stop another family going through the same thing.

"We'd like guidelines so anyone who goes on holiday where there're ponds and things know that they're going to be safe," she said.

The Marsden family hosted a fashion show at Buckley Working Men's Club on Wednesday and raised £1,400 for the Air Ambulance in north Wales.

The helicopter, based in Caernarfon needs around £750,000 a year to remain airborne.