A HOLIDAYMAKER claimed pool staff were "not up to the job" at Scarborough's Atlantis water theme park after a 16-year-old drowned.

An inquest at the resort heard how John Rudderham was dragged unconscious from the pool last summer, but died next day in hospital.

Lee Farnsworth, who was on holiday with his family, was at Atlantis on June 18, but was unable to swim because the pool was so crowded.

Questioned by North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley about supervision, he said: "There should have been a more obvious presence of lifeguards".

The boy's father, also called John Rudderham of Forber Avenue, Hull, also questioned Mr Farnsworth and was told: "The lifeguards, in my opinion, were not up to the job. There were kids in the pool who were unsupervised. I heard screaming 'There's a body', but it was at least five minutes before the boy was pulled out".

A long-standing friend of the drowned youth, Anthony Wilkinson said a group of eight including John had gone to Atlantis. He said: "There were too many people in the pool - it was packed. You couldn't swim either across or down the pool."

Zoe Craig-Tyler general assistant with qualifications in life saving, at Atlantis, said there had been two lifeguards on duty in the area.

The coroner suggested the pool might have been evacuated on discovery of the incident. The hearing continues.