Ruddington man due in court after children fell ill at summer camp

A man has been charged following a report earlier this week in relation to a number of children becoming unwell at a summer camp in Stathern.

John Ruben, 76, of Landmere Lane, Ruddington,  has been charged with three counts of wilful ill treatment of a child. The charges relate to three different children at the summer camp.

The charges follow a report received on Sunday (27 July) that children at a summer camp being held at Stathern Lodge in Canal Lane, Stathern, near Melton, had become unwell.

Emergency services attended the scene and eight children, who were all boys aged between eight and 11, were taken to hospital as a precaution.

An adult was also taken to hospital. All have since been discharged.

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Ruben has been remanded into custody and will appear at Leicester Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (Saturday 2 August).

The owners and operators of Stathern Lodge are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident.

This is an active criminal investigation and we ask that people do not speculate further about the incident, particularly on social media platforms.

Leicestershire Police, the lead agency for this investigation, continues to work closely with partners ensuring that full safeguarding is provided to all those affected.

The public portal is available here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/33EM25I63-PO1 for anyone who has been affected by this investigation or might wish to contact the force about what has happened.

Assistant Chief Constable Leona Scurr, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We understand that legal proceedings are now active in relation to this incident so therefore it would not be appropriate for us to comment further.

“However, we understand that this incident would have caused serious concerns for many people in our local community.

“We would like to reassure them that we are working with partners including Leicestershire Police with their investigation.

“Anyone with wishes to provide the investigations team with further information can do so through our dedicated online portal.”

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