A widow who lost a sentimental piece of jewellery at a theme park given her by her late husband was refused back in to look for it unless she paid the entry fee again.
Grandma Christine Parkin, 57, had gone to the popular Wheelgate Park with grandson Lewis, three, when she lost a silver cross pendant.
She only realised it was missing when she returned home after the park had closed and went back first thing the next day.
But she says staff at the attraction in Farnsfield, Notts., which boasts the UK’s biggest waterpark, told her she would have to pay the £13.99 admission.
Christine, who lives five miles away from the park, was so upset she burst into tears but staff still refused to budge.
She went to her sister‘s home and tried to speak to the manager on the phone but was told she would have to send an email with her request.
Christine explained she had no laptop or computer and asked if she could leave a message for the manager to call her back but she never had a phone call.
She has now given up hope of finding the treasured keepsake, unless someone hands it in.
Christine said: “I didn’t notice the pendant had fallen off my chain I’d got home after the park had closed.
“The necklace was still intact but the cross had come away.
“I remembered feeling a little tap on my chest as we were eating ice-cream sat on a bench together and I thought that must have been it.
“I thought that if I got in there first thing I could take a quick look.
“The area we were sat was a sanded area. I thought my chances of finding it were slim but I knew where to look.
“I went back first thing the next day, hoping to just nip in for a quick look in the area where I thought it might be, and if I didn’t find I knew I would have to accept it was gone.
“I was so shocked when they said I couldn’t go back in. I just didn’t expect them to say no.
“The young girl on the desk wouldn’t even let me speak to the manager – she just said it was company policy and that I would have to pay the £13.99 entry fee.
“It’s crazy to think that I would be looking to sneak in and have a quick play on all the rides on my own, without the grandkids.”
The pendant had been given to Christine on her 18th birthday by her late husband, Alan who died in 2014 at the age of 58 from a blood clot.
The couple had been married 38 years and met when Christine was 16-years-old.
Christine said: “I’ve now resigned myself to the fact that it’s gone.
“I just don’t see why they couldn’t be more helpful. This has broken my heart.”
Nobody was available from Wheelgate Park for comment.
