Play Factory, Thornaby say food was not the cause of illness outbreak

Parents raised concerns with Play Factory in Thornaby after their children, who attended a party at the centre on Saturday, suffered from severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

One parent told The Northern Echo out of a group of 24 children, 19 of them became ill.

The Play Factory, Thornaby

They suggested that the cause of the illness was food that the children ate whilst at the party, but Bob Corbett, managing director at Endeavour Leisure, which owns Play Factory, said that couldn't be the case, as staff who had consumed any of the food were also struck down with the mystery illness.

Public Health England have launched an investigation into the illness, and bosses at Play Factory decided to close the centre on Monday to give it a full and thorough clean.

The centre was reopened the following day.

The Northern Echo understands Play Factory was not the only activity centre to be forced to close at the weekend because of potential illness.

"We knew of staff members that had come down ill and had suffered from vomiting, and then we received reports from parents that children had apparently become ill after attending parties here," said Mr Corbett

"We alerted Public Health England on the Monday morning, and it was clear straight away that there was no link to the food - parents of some of the children had become ill without even eating the food.

"When you are in a warm place like this, a virus can spread, and our message to parents would be if your child is ill, don't take them out - leave them at home.

"It is up to parents to take appropriate measures."

Mr Corbett said everything from the walls, carpets and doors were cleaned on Monday.

"Environmental Health were very happy with us and since we reopened on Tuesday, there has been no other reported cases of any illness.

"Of course, we have great sympathy with all the families affected, we really feel for them and we wish them a speedy recovery."

A spokesperson for Public Health England said: "Public Health England North East's health protection team is aware of a number of cases of vomiting associated with the Play Factory in Thornaby.

"We are working with Stockton on Tees Borough Council's Environmental Health Officers to investigate.

"Appropriate control measures have been put in place and the management are cooperating fully.

"The management took the decision to voluntary close to allow for a deep clean of the premises, and the centre has now reopened."