Ella the danger mouse got more than she bargained for when she tried to win herself one of the gift teddies in a grab-a-prize machine, located in the family amusement zone of the Sunspot bar, in Fase IV of the Shopping Centre Puerto Rico, last Sunday at about 8.30 pm.
Her panicked mum, Lisa, found her little ball of energy had been so focused on winning a stuffed toy she’d spotted that, as soon as her 13 year old sister’s back was turned, she managed to climb inside the machine through the prize hatch, but then found she couldn’t climb out again quickly enough before the alarm was raised. She thought she’d get away with it, but found her self trapped behind the glass for all to see.
Luckily for six-year-old Ella, Sunspot barman Mohammed turned out to have a bit of an heroic streak, leaping into action to calm the situation, and Ella, and her poor worried mum Lisa, before managing to safely get the cheeky tyke out again, completely unscathed.
Ella and family have been here on holiday, enjoying the winter sun in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria, and praised the Sunspot and Mohammed for being so kind and quick acting, as well as the patrons of this popular bar, which neighbours The Pub at the top of the original leisure centre that serves this well-known resort town.
Ella was gifted the teddy she’d been after, and mum got some unusual holiday snaps to share on social media. While most people have been able to laugh about it, understanding that some kids are faster moving, and more adventurous than others, there has, reportedly, been at least one sad-sack criticising them on facebook trying to turn the incident into something more than it was, unnecessarily hurling abuse at Ella’s parents, in the absence of anything better to do with their time.
“We were sat right in front of the machines, within eyesight, and she was with her two sisters as well; it just happened so quickly” explained Lisa.
All such facilities here, provided for families on holiday, have to be safely installed and monitored so as to ensure no serious injuries can occur. Mohammed was able to demonstrate, very quickly, just how seriously client safety is taken by our bars and facilities providers on the south of the island, and resolved the situation calmly with a smile.
No harm, no foul, and one happy little girl managed to get the prize she’d set her heart on, even if she didn’t manage to do it the conventional way, mum Lisa think she’s probably learned an important lesson while she was at it.