Time Line

3.30pm: Popular destination with Midlands families The taxi driver tells me that Pontins Brean Sands is a popular camp with families from the Midlands. He questions whether I'm due to meet somebody there or whether there is a 'special event' on at the holiday park.

3.55pm - Surrounded by caravan parks Driving through it seems there are plenty of other options for holidaymakers wanting to enjoy Brean Sands beach.



The camp is surrounded by a number of caravan parks.



I arrive at Pontins Brean Sands, which is set back from a main road, in a taxi and give my details to security who hand me a form to fill out.







4pm - Musty smell in chaotic arcade As I opened the door to what I imagined was a quiet reception desk, I was immediately plunged into chaos. Dozens of arcade machines all ringing simultaneously, children racing around and a musty lingering smell like an old-fashioned pub. One staff member mans the entire reception and I join the queue of around seven families - all waiting to check-in to their rooms as key collection starts from 4pm. Teenagers lounge in tea cup rides clearly not designed for their age group. The arcade carpet is stained with filth and blobs of chewing-gum are trodden into the disgusting flooring at reception.

4.25pm - Friendly staff I'm aware that many guests have complained of rude staff at this holiday camp, however this young receptionist is polite and friendly enough - calling me 'babes' and handing me a map with the route to my apartment.

She also explains how I'll have to put at least £5 of electricity into the meter on top of the £139 I paid for two nights in a one-bed apartment. There is no Wifi apart from in the main building, I discover. I was directed to the "fun factory" to find out what entertainment the night had in store for me. Surprisingly, it seems quite an extensive list, despite previous complaints from families there is "nothing for the kids".



Though judging by the week's schedule, the entertainment is largely the same every night, with a Pontins character kicking off the evening, different Blue Coats performing and a disco to finish.

4.40pm - Cigarette butts and litter Walking through the holiday park to my allocated apartment and I realise the reception isn't the only filthy area. Cigarette butts and rubbish is dumped all over the park - especially near the benches outside the main entrance.



En route to my accommodation, I passed a neglected skate park, a strangely quiet adventure play area and a Nisa Local.



The grassy areas around the play parks - dotted within the accommodation - were littered with discarded cigarettes as well.

4.45pm - 'Sick' on the steps I'm first greeted to my apartment block with the sight of what appears to be someone's vomit. I try to dodge this as I haul my suitcase up the steps.

But nothing could prepare me for what I was about to experience.

4.46pm - Horrifying scenes at my apartment A full to the brim bin, burnt trodden-in popcorn and two damp towels - one strewn across the filthy corridor floor and another hung up on the rail.



There was a empty crate of beer abandoned and a mug full of cigarettes and ash dumped on the floor outside too.



And this was just the exterior of my allocated apartment.



I was horrified but despite everything I've heard about Pontins, I thought surely this can't be right. But from the window I thought someone had genuinely left my room in this state, so I double checked the door - number 60. And double checked my documents - number 60.



4.48pm - Spare key to somebody's apartment To my surprise the key worked, but as I tried to enter, a rubbish bag full of half-eaten food and cans erupted and spilled out - blocking the entrance.



A blast of stale cigarette smoke hit me and I begged internally to escape this hell.



Inside, soiled underwear appeared stuck to the floor, sausages in thick grease on the oven and a bowl of what I can only describe as green slime.



I spotted a mobile phone and pairs of shoes and realised Pontins staff had made a very worrying mistake.

4.54pm - Displeased neighbour The guest next door tells me the people in number 60 have been staying there for days and have just popped out for the day.



It begs the question, why was their apartment all set for me to check-in? Never-the-less, the neighbour doesn’t seem surprised and tells me lots of families have had problems.



"They’ve lost the plot running this place", she says as she explains how her room had no running water and a broken TV. She adds that her fire alarm keeps going off too.

5pm - Room mix-up not 'uncommon' When complaining to reception about my apartment, the formerly chirpy lady now seems inconvenienced and replies "agh okay" before calling the manager.



She explains that there is two sets of keys and suggests the family should have checked out.



"What may have happened was they were meant to have booked out but obviously the system hasn't updated that they've booked an extra night or something like that.



"It don't happen too often. It's just that cross over - it has happened before though." She is unapologetic for the inconvenience caused, as is the manager - who says somebody had gone into a room they shouldn't have been in.

He claims he was off to find out who they were and sort the situation.



5.10pm - New apartment damp and reeks of smoke I get my keys to the new apartment no 61 and it is relatively clean save for the broken toilet seat with the sharp edges. The harsh smell of smoke makes me choke slightly as I enter and there's dripping damp all over the ceiling too.



A bucket has been placed underneath to collect the condensation. Small yellow blobs stick to the inside of the bath, though I'm unsure what these are.

5.31pm - Faulty smoke alarms sounding The smoke alarm has randomly started ringing and refuses to stop even though there is no smoke present. There's no way to turn it off and fifteen minutes later it is still sounding. I think it is time to get out of the room. But as I leave, I realise it is the whole block and guests are furious. They say it has been going off constantly all week in the entire block every time anyone tries to cook for their children.



They claim Pontins staff have not done "anything" to resolve the situation.

5.45pm - Furious guest says 'never again' Reacting to the fire alarm issue, a guest staying in my block says "it's the first time I've ever been here and the last time too."



Another guest says there was no water to bath his children and he entered the apartment to find other people's food still in the fridge.



6pm - Hidden costs Dozens of families have flocked to the "fun factory" as the evening entertainment kick starts with a paparazzi session with Chuckles the monkey. The bluecoats are admittedly very enthusiastic and seem to excite the children.



There are huge queues of families waiting to see the favourable monkey mascot, but these extras for the kids all cost more money.



It costs £5 for the children to have a photo with the monkey while outdated cheesy 80s music plays in the background.





6.30pm - Litter-plagued leisure area There is litter everywhere and young kids are running around without a parent nearby.



Towards the rear there’s an 'inflatable zone' consisting of just two pieces of equipment, but the kids seem to be enjoying it. In the leisure zone there seems to be plenty to do, with go karting, paddle karts, a play area with swings, an 'urban gym', a skate park, trampolining and the pool.

However, all of which is outdated and will cost more money in the form of tokens purchased from the leisure centre.

7pm - Pleasant beach nearby Brean Sands is just a three minute walk and is perhaps one of the few selling points for the camp.



The long stretch of beach is soft and clean, perfect for young children staying in the nearby Pontins.





7.20pm - Buffet on dirty plates The evening meal at the Queen Victoria pub for those who opt for self-catering is £8.95 and consists of some salad, grated cheese, 'vegetable pie', cod fish cake and chips.



There's also some sliced potato with 'mince-meat' underneath.



Some of the plates have spots of food from previous meals clinging on and the food smells are a bit overwhelming.



There's food squashed into carpet and on the floor and the dessert fridges are a mess.



I force a little bit of food down but it is largely tasteless just like the squash which misleadingly brands itself as "100% juice."

7.35pm - Dirty fridges Dirty fridges full of bashed up bits of cake is the offer for dessert.



Crumbs of pudding spill out from the fridges and onto the floor - ready to get squashed like everything else on the food hall floor.



Though admittedly what was left of the pudding was surprisingly tasty.

8pm - Bluecoat entertainers The "fun factory" is packed out with hundreds of parents, young babies, toddlers and even teenagers.



The blue coat entertainers are up on stage and encouraging the kids and parents alike to be silly - including dancing around like various animals and being soaked with a water gun.



Chuckles the monkey comes out on stage and pantomime style jokes are made, leaving the children in fits of giggles.



Everyone seems to be having a great time - especially the children.

8.30pm - Staff selling toys During the performance, Pontins staff try to squeeze more money out of the guests by offering light up batons to the kids for a set price. There is also a shop at the front selling Pontins branded toys and another store at the side of the main hall.

9pm - Non-stop evening entertainment The entertainment is non-stop and as soon as 'party time with Chuckles' ends, the children are up on their feet once more dancing to classic school disco songs.



The jam-packed line up is great to see and clearly has most people enjoying themselves.

9.15pm - Scantily-clad dancers as children watch With the children still present, the parents continue to drink and the adult entertainment begins.



Female dancers in crop tops dance around the stage and sing loud rock songs in the 'I wanna rock' show.



As the concert gets underway, the Blue Coats dance seductively as rows of children sit looking up at them.





9.35pm - Bouncers on patrol There are four bouncers currently manning the bar area and entrance for the "fun factory".

9.45pm - Young children play while parents drink Children as young as around six play on the parks outside the apartment blocks with no parental supervision in the pitch black as adults continue to drink inside the main hall.





10.30pm - Chaos as fire alarm clears hall Families cling onto each other and ask whether they have all their belongings as they are evacuated from the building.



All the while the children are screaming about their abandoned slush puppies and toys.



Everyone is told to move away from the building after what seemed like a serious fire.

However, it is believed a drunken guest had smashed the fire alarm.



11pm - Doors banging, kids screaming As I try to sleep, the bass from the main hall can be heard among children screaming and doors slamming shut.



I've brought my own sleeping bag after hearing horror stories of blood-stained mattresses and filthy linen.



Every breath I take I am inhaling more and more of the lingering second-hand smoke which clings to the walls, furniture and very atmosphere of the musty apartment.

3am - Parents squabbling with children I was awoken to the sound of what I thought was a fight kicking off outside my apartment.



As I looked out into the corridor, parents were arguing loudly with their children in the doorway to their room.



The row lasted around an hour before they eventually returned to their rooms.



4.10am - Screaming girl The sleepless night in hell continues as I'm woken by the short sharp scream of a young girl.



It seems to have come from near the squabbling, restless family - who to my annoyance refuse to sleep.





8.45am - Average breakfast The Queen Victoria is fairly quiet and there seems to be no staff in sight.



It is a buffet again, which is all the camp offers in terms of cooked food. Segments of oranges, a fruit cocktail, toast, cereal or the main fry up in silver trays are the options available.



But the sausages are spotted with transparent blobs of fat which are chewy to eat. Nothing tastes fresh, and it is fairly average as breakfasts go.









9.20am - No fresh food at on-site supermarket Strangely, the on-site supermarket Nisa Local is completely void of any fresh produce.



There are no vegetables, fruit or anything for people who are self-catered or wanting to cook something fresh for their children.



Though of course there's plenty of toys, stacks of alcohol, tinned food, microwave meals and rows and rows of cake, sweets and chocolates.









10.15am - Huge queues for swimming pool Around 50 families are queuing for the swimming pool and have been for more than an hour with their children in just swimwear and a towel.



One frustrated child - who clearly doesn't understand time yet - says "why are they not open yet, it's stupid."



The families are forced to wait a total of an hour and a half to be let into the swimming pool for their turn.



The long wait was due to no lifeguards being present at the pool.



10.30am - Rammed pool The pool is rammed full of parents and children - each with around two square metres to swim and play and yet more are piling in.



It has a capacity of 120 people, which is far too many for the size of the pool, in my opinion.



The much-anticipated Flume feature of the pool is out of action due to a "technical fault".





11.30am - Child cuts foot on broken pool tile A young child is hopping around in her swimming costume and towel with toilet paper wrapped round a bloody foot.



Her father claims she had cut her foot on a broken, loose tile at the bottom of the pool.



In images it appears many of the tiles on the bottom of the pool are either dirty or missing.

11.45am - 'Faeces' smothered on duvet I speak to another unhappy guest who is disgusted by his experience at Pontins.



He shows me images of what he claims are human faeces on a duvet supplied by Pontins for a sum of £8. Their mattress, he reports, also had smears of poo all over it.



The family, who have come from Cardiff, claim they waited from 4pm until 11pm at night for clean bed linen for their children to finally go to sleep in.



He says 99.9 per cent of people are unhappy here and have complained too.



12pm - Claims of mice and second pool injury Another family, living at the other side of the park in the chalets, claim mice have chewed through the furniture in their room.



While a third family say their child lifted one of the loose tiles above his head in the swimming pool after cutting his foot on it.

1pm - "Haven is the Ritz compared to this" A pair of unhappy mums - who brought their kids down together - explain how they had bought bleach to clean their chalet themselves.



"We got bleach flash, wipes, everything to clean as the smell was like rot, damp, festering bodies.



"We had a conversation last night saying overall there's plenty for the children to do, entertainment's fine, but the smell of cigarettes was disgusting.



"We've stayed in a lot of holiday parks, Butlins, Haven and this is the worst. Haven is like the Ritz compared to this."





2pm - Same activities, different day On the surface, there seems to be plenty of activities for the children and the whole family in the day time including Curling, Cine Racing, a Disco Bingo and photo opportunities with Pontins characters.



However, when dissected this is nearly exactly the same as yesterday's daytime entertainment. And most of which needs to be paid for on-top of the accommodation price.



When speaking with families at the end of my stay, many say there is not much to do for the kids in the day - and "every day is the same".

