A young couple have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after their dream of buying their first home together turned into a living nightmare.
Samantha Driver, 35, and Lushana Howard, 30, had been desperately searching for their first home together and were struggling to find somewhere willing to house their two beloved Chihuahua dogs.
The couple thought they had finally found an answer to their problems when they saw a caravan advertised for rent at Billing Aquadrome that would accept pets.
They were told the site, just outside Northampton, was equipped with round the clock security, routine grounds maintenance and even a host of lavish amenities including an indoor heated swimming pool, bars, restaurants and fishing lakes.
After being convinced into purchasing a brand new £48,000 caravan, helped with a £34,000 loan from Samantha’s mother and another loan from her father, the novice homeowners quickly set about making the most of their newfound freedom.
But, problems started before they had even moved into the caravan as they were informed – contrary to what the salesman had told them – that dogs were not allowed to be kept unattended inside.
From then on, the couple were delivered blow after blow as they were also faced with XL bully dogs running free, machete wielding thugs terrorising locals and parts of the park being flooded metres from their doorstep.
They have since moved out of the park, which they described as a ‘run down slum’, and are still having to splash out more than £2,000 a month to pay the loans back, leaving the pair with no money left.
Samantha Driver (right), 35, and Lushana Howard (left), 30, have been left thousands out of pocket after their dream of buying their first home together turned into a nightmare
The couple thought they had finally found an answer to their problems when they saw a caravan advertised for rent at Billing Aquadrome (pictured). But their hopes of finding newfound freedom ended in misery
Before agreeing to buy the caravan, Samantha and Lushana claim they were given assurances that it would be ok to leave their dogs unattended in the caravan.
‘We made sure that our dogs were ok to be left alone in the caravan with occasional help from a dog-sitter,’ Samantha explained.
‘We chose our site, number 14 for two reasons, firstly that’s my birthday and secondly we were told that was a particularly well protected location in case of any flooding.’
The couple were aware the park had flooded before, but were told Meadow Bay – Billing Aquadrome’s parent company – were investing £12 million in the park and flood protection ‘was the top spending priority’.
‘We confirmed that our annual site fees included: rates and water; grounds maintenance and landscaping; park security; street lighting; office admin; and access to the indoor heated swimming pool, bars and restaurants, fishing lakes and owner events,’ Samantha continued.
‘We had heard horror stories of some parks increasing annual fees to £10,000 a year or more and sought assurances that this would not happen here.’ She was told that while there wouldn’t be any specific limits on increases, they would be minimal.
‘Finally we confirmed that we could live permanently in the caravan. We’ve all seen the stories about people who bought a static caravan to live in, only to be told later that it could only be used as a holiday stay.’
Samantha says they were told they could live in the park legally for 11 months a year, as it had to close for a month ‘as a kind of loophole to allow people to live there permanently outside of those weeks’.
Samantha (pictured) said she and her partner have since moved out of park but are still having to pay more than £2,000 a month to pay back loans
Piled up garbage at Billing Aquadrome, which the couple described as a ‘run down slum’
Their concerns seemingly addressed, Samantha and Lushana completed the agreement and moved in.
But before they were even able to do so, the couple were dealt the first of many disappointing blows.
‘We were waiting for the caravan to be installed when we were given the paperwork, which we had not seen completed copies of until this point,’ Samantha said.
‘Our first shock was to discover that not only were dogs forbidden to be left unattended in a caravan, but any person minding a dog had to be over 18 years old.
‘This would have been a deciding factor in us buying the caravan as the only dog-sitter we knew was 17 years old.
‘Already upset, we went to plot number 14 to inspect our newly installed caravan. It was installed on plot 13.
‘We were unhappy about this as not only are we superstitious, but had chosen 14 because of my birthday as well as the very salient fact that it was sold to us as being better sited for flood defence.’
From then on, their issues seemingly became never-ending.
The caravan parks also flooded while the couple were living there, despite being told the park owner would be investing in flood defenses
‘Despite our own small dogs not being allowed to be alone even inside the caravan, or minded by a 17 year old, there were terrifying XL bully dogs roaming unattended around the site.
‘We needed to put up skirting around our caravan to keep the dangerous dogs out of our area, but were told this was not allowed unless we paid the park £2700 to do it for us.
‘The ground rent has already gone up by £500 in the first year. It is now £5100 for 2025. We can not afford increases like this.
‘Also we soon discovered that rates and water are not included in the annual fees, which increases the annual costs even further.’
Samantha claimed the promise of an indoor swimming pool has also been abandoned as it rarely open. As for security and maintenance, it was practically non-existent, she said.
‘There are overgrown hedges and uncut grass everywhere, as well as piles of garbage, dog excrement, duck excrement and other litter all over the park.
‘The ‘street lighting’ does not work except for one individual light at the end of the park. The road is pitch black at night, and can not be walked without torches.
‘The annual fee is supposed to include on-park security, yet there were multiple reports of XL bully dog attacks around the park, some resulting in fatalities to other dogs.’
Billing Aquadrome has previously had issues with flooding. It is pictured surrounded by water after a storm last year
A car sits in floodwater at the Billing Aquadrome holiday park, Northamptonshire, after flooding caused 43 residents to evacuate in September 2024
‘We have also personally witnessed terrifying scenes of people dressed in black, wearing balaclavas and threatening people in cars with machetes.
‘Since one such event, my partner Lushana has suffered from severe mental health issues requiring long-term professional care.’
And despite assurances that Meadow Bay were investing in flood prevention measures, the park has indeed flooded – with the water stopping just metres from their door in one instance.
Even the caravan itself has not lived up to the standards that they hoped, with badly fitted doors, leaking taps and cheap and dangerous front steps.
‘The steps were nothing like the brand new, high quality ones we were shown on the sales presentation. They were slippery, had gaps and they sank into the ground when it rained.
‘Lushana injured herself slipping on the steps. We complained to the office, but were simply told: ‘tough, you won’t be getting the good steps.’
‘The caravan design company eventually sent someone to fix the issues, and he confirmed that the fixtures were bodged. We began to question whether our caravan was even a new one.’
The couple discovered that they were contractually obliged to buy gas directly from the park at £98 per canister, despite it being much cheaper elsewhere. They also were forbidden from erecting even a portable clothes dryer outside.
The caravan park was also covered in rubbish and other debris despite being told there was a round the clock maintenance team clearing up the site
Breeze blocks, metal pipes and other various rubbish items are strewn across the grass close to the couple’s caravan site
‘The ‘garden’ was a patch of uneven grass with a huge, mud circle where a plastic table had been,’ Samantha continued.
‘There was an old satellite dish half embedded in the ground, and when they did cut the nettles, they left them in a heap together with old plastic bottles, crisp packets and other rubbish in a storm drain at the back of our caravan.’
‘Any time we complained about any of the issues, we were met with hostility, aggression and even swearing from angry staff members who came banging on our door.’
Samantha and Lushana have since enquired about selling the less-than-one-year-old caravan back to the park, but were told that the most Meadow bay could offer was only £20,000.
‘That price would not come close even to covering the outstanding debt payments we have on the caravan,’ Samantha explained.
‘This has destroyed us. All our money has gone. The caravan is standing empty but still costing us over £2000 a month in fees and loans to pay back.
‘We have had to move back in with my family in London and thanks to these stressful events at Billing Aquadrome, Lushana still requires professional medical help and is only just starting to recover.
‘Billing Aquadrome has turned out to be nothing but a run down slum. We were sold a dream and bought a nightmare.’
They are now seeking advice for European Consumer Claims which is spearheading a national campaign for accountability within the holiday park sector.
Greg Wilson, ECC CEO, said: ‘For some time ECC have been lobbying for changes in the law to make holiday park businesses both more strictly regulated and accountable.
‘So far, successive governments have refused, saying that people should rely on the Consumer Credit Act for protection. However for most people this is an expensive and often ineffective way to seek redress without expert help.
‘ECC remains staunchly at the forefront of this national fight for holiday park justice.’
The Mail has contacted Meadow Bay for comment.
