A SIX-YEAR-OLD girl is recovering after a traumatic holiday incident resulted in her being “sucked under the water” into a swimming pool pump during a family holiday in Spain.

Zara Clarkson’s arm was trapped inside the pump, “which was acting like a vacuum", her father said.

Her parents, from Starling in Bury, said they had to hold her head above the water for three hours to prevent her from drowning.

A Spanish neighbour called the emergency services, who then began the painstaking task of freeing Zara from the side of the pool at their Costa del Sol villa.

Dad Zack, aged 46 of Cockey Moor Road, said: “As my daughter tried to get out of the pool, she slipped and was dragged under. If she had been six inches shorter, she would have drowned. I had to hold her head above water for three hours.

“They had to dig at the side of the pool with lump hammers, claw hammers, screwdrivers. When the emergency services arrived, they began working frantically to excavate her, trying to break the seal. They brought in jackhammers to break up the concrete.

“The plastic was still in her arm when they released her. Her hand was trapped for so long that it swelled up to about three times its normal size.”

Zara was on holiday with her mum Claire, dad and twin sister Lucy, the family having only bought the property, in the Villas de Santa Maria, Estepona, at Christmas.

Since the incident on August 16, the brave Lowercroft Primary School pupil has summoned up the courage to re-enter the water despite having nightmares and being unable to speak about the incident for two days.

“Thankfully Zara is fine in herself now”, Zack said. “There is still a bit of swelling and discolouration but she has been discharged from hospital. She has now been into another pool and she seems to be okay.”

Zara underwent treatment at the Hospital Costa del Sol in Marbella where doctors conducted blood tests to ensure there was no damage to her kidneys.

Doctors fear that the force of the suction may have forced toxins to be released into Zara’s bloodstream.

A local newspaper Diario Sur has claimed that the pump switch was turned off at the time of the incident but Zack denies this. The family say they will be taking legal action.

The Bury Times has approached a representative of Villas de Santa Maria urbanization for comment.