'One parent for every toddler' swim pool row

For some parents teaching their children to swim is an important rite of passage.

But in an increasingly litigious society more leisure centres are preventing them from doing just that.

Thousands of parents with children under four are now being told they must swim with only one child. There must also be one adult for every two children aged from four to eight.

More leisure centres are implementing existing safety guidelines to avoid possible compensation claims in the event of tragedies.

But critics called for leisure centres to use common sense.

Christopher Neill, 35, who founded the campaign group Right To Swim, has four children whose ages range from one to seven.

He described the guidelines as "political correctness gone crazy". Since launching his campaign 7,500 parents have joined forces to lobby for a change in the advice.

Mr Neill said: "The guidance has the best of intentions but it's not aimed at the right people.

"Children under four aren't drowning in public swimming pools. It's the older children who are sometimes encountering problems. If we are not comfortable going swimming with our children then we are able to make the choice - we shouldn't have that right taken away from us."

Those behind the campaign are planning a series of demonstrations nationwide this week to protest at the guidelines introduced by the Institute of Sports and Leisure Management.

Carolyn Warner, from Maidstone, said: "My children are age six and two. It means I have to arrange for someone to have one child while I take one for a swim."

The campaign has received the backing of former British swimmer Sharron Davies who said: "On the whole most parents are very responsible. They go in, look after the toddler and all the older children are told to stay close by.

"There are qualified professionals that are supposed to be there as lifeguards - that's their job."

Ralph Riley, chief executive of the ISLM, defended the guidelines.

"If you want to take a child under the age of four into a standard 25-metre swimming pool then, for safety reasons, you should be with them at all times.

"A four-year-old can't stand up so without one-to-one attention they would be very much at risk."

But he added: "I think there is a problem with the way local swimming pools are implementing the guidelines."