A British tourist is suing a holiday park for £500,000 compensation after breaking her spine on an extreme waterslide which she says left her four inches shorter.  

Jennifer Proctor, 27, suffered catastrophic injuries while descending the 40ft ‘Banzai’ waterslide on a bodyboard at Aqualand waterpark in Mallorca.  

She had to undergo an emergency spinal fusion procedure to treat her injuries after the ordeal in 2019.  

Now Ms Proctor says her height has reduced from 5’11 to 5’7 as a result.  

Following surgery, she then battled a recurring septic infection for several months.    

Although Ms Proctor has now recovered, the injury has left a ‘legacy of lasting chronic pain’.  

The ‘nightmare’ incident has also hampered her plans to become a teacher after she was left struggling to pay for her training course.   

The ‘Banzai’ slide propels users down using water jets at the top, with riders ‘flying’ across the water when they reach the bottom.  

But Ms Proctor, a keen swimmer, claims she was not given proper instructions.  

She believes she was thrown off the bodyboard before it even hit the water.  

Ms Proctor, of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, is currently not working.  

She launched the damages claim against Spanish amusement park operators, Aspro Ocio S.A, as well as a firm of Spanish insurers, Liberty Seguros, alleging fault in management of the slide. 

The issues of liability and compensation for her injuries are both in dispute.  

Her legal representative, Katherine Deal QC, told the High Court in London: ‘One would not expect to use this water slide and come off it with a broken back.’  

The case reached the High Court as lawyers discussed pre-trial issues involving analysis of Spanish law and expert evidence about the use of the water slide. 

The trial itself is expected to be dealt with in line with Spanish law. 

Metro.co.uk has contacted Aspro and Liberty Seguros for comment. 

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