A man from Alyth – whose drunken water slide antics have made international headlines – says he does not regret speaking out despite facing “a lot of hatred” in a public backlash.
Barry Douglas, 44, sneaked on to the flume with friend Claire Vickers early one August morning after a day of drinking in Aldershot.
The pair smashed into a barrier at the bottom of the slide, with Barry – who was naked – breaking both his ankles and one of his legs.
They were eventually found by police, but have not faced any prosecution.
Barry appeared on This Morning on Tuesday and revealed how his injuries had led to a “serious change” in his life.
The pair’s behaviour – which has been covered by media across the UK, and as far away as New Zealand – has attracted criticism from members of the public.
However Barry, who left Alyth to work in Hampshire in 1997, says he stands by his decision to speak out.
He told The Courier: “I decided to go public to make other people aware.
“People do stupid things when they’re drunk and I wanted to raise awareness that, if you’re going to do it, be careful of that steel barrier at the bottom.
‘There’s been a lot of hatred online’
“Loads of folk do it. It’s been going on for years. It’s just one of these things everyone does when they’re p*****. There’s been a few instances at Aldershot.
“There’s been a lot of hatred online, a lot of people saying, ‘it’s their own fault, they should’ve gone head first’.
“There’s been a lot of anger towards it, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to raise awareness because it’s been kept hush-hush. Some people are sympathetic though.”
Barry told This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that the pair plan to take legal action against the pool’s operators over the incident.
Viewers took to social media to criticise their behaviour and comments.
One wrote: “The two individuals who decided it was a good idea to break into waterpark in the middle of the night and then broke their legs in the process will get absolutely no sympathy from me.
“I believe it’s what’s known as injury by misadventure.”
Another posted: “Seriously???? 2 drunks, who are plenty old enough to know better, going to SUE a lido because THEY broke in and got hurt!”
Others branded the pair “clowns” and “scroungers”.
Me and a friend once tried to sue a waterpark that we broke into because we were drunk af and broke our legs on one of the water slides #ThisMorning pic.twitter.com/WvTlR0xl0X
— Jš¬š§š³š¬š¦ā¤ (@MissLionHeart) October 5, 2021
Forklift driver Barry told The Courier: “A lot of people are laughing about it. It’s just other people that don’t know me.
“Let the haters hate you. Folk have been saying we’re just a couple of mugs, waste of breathing space, couple of druggie misfits, alcoholics, taking the piss out of the benefits system – I’ve worked all my life.
“People are saying we shouldn’t have snuck in, but it’s 50-50 really.
Legal case based on alleged negligence
“Somebody else will feed the fire next week. It might affect the [legal] case, but I don’t really regret going public. It certainly gave people something to talk about.”
Asked about the basis of a legal case, Barry said: “There was a big hole in the fence so we went in there and swam across.
“The chains on the steps to the slide – all you needed to do was unhook them, they weren’t secure. So we just went down there and hit the steel barrier.
“It’s negligence on both our behalves, but it should be secure.”
Barry says he has been signed off work for nine months as a result of the incident while he recovers in temporary accommodation.
He added:Ā “Hopefully I’ll start getting physio soon then get back on my feet and back to work.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be out of action for, though.”
Rushmoor Borough Council, which owns Aldershot Lido, has been contacted for comment.