'Nobody around here can quite believe it' - Devastation in Blackpool as boy, 10, dies after electric shock at seafront hotel

It's one of the hottest days of the year and holidaymakers would usually be spilling out of Tiffanys, one of the best-known hotels on Blackpool's seafront.

But today, there was an eerie silence. Other than the occasional tourist stopping for a photograph in front of its famous pink frontage, the area outside it was deserted. As the hotel, which is also a wedding venue, remains closed while investigations continue into a tragedy that has shaken one corner of this world-famous resort to its core.

Last Sunday emergency services were called to the hotel on the Promenade on Blackpool's North Shore, and found a young boy unresponsive in the reception area.

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Police say the 10-year-old suffered an electric shock. He was rushed to hospital where he died of his injuries on Thursday. The hotel has voluntarily agreed to remain shut whilst police and council enquiries into what happened are carried out.

Nearby hoteliers today told the Manchester Evening News the boy's death had left them stunned and saddened in equal measure.

Daniel Edwards, 28, General Manager at the Canasta Hotel said: "I only found out this morning, My housekeeper told me. Tiffanys has got a very good reputation so I was quite shocked.

"I did see emergency services there on Sunday. There were loads of ambulances and police cars. But I actually thought they were at a different hotel. And I had no idea what had happened at that stage. It was only today I heard the news.

"It was just a shock. Nobody around here can quite believe it. As a parent myself, I can't begin to imagine the pain the parents are feeling. There are obviously a lot of questions, about what's happened