A mum was left "hysterical" after her three-year-old daughter was allegedly not helped by her swimming teachers after she slipped under the water. The parent says she was forced to jump in herself fully clothed to help her child as the two instructors were not keeping an eye on her at the time.
The mum, who did not want to be named, said she had been left "traumatised" by the incident which occurred on April 19. At the time, the tutors were helping other children jump into the water.
She has lodged a complaint with Enderby Leisure & Golf Centre over the April 9 incident. Luke Parratt, general manager of Sports and Leisure Management Ltd, known as Everyone Active, which runs the centre, confirmed "an incident" had taken place at the pool, has apologised and said an internal investigation is under way, Leicestershire Live reports.
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The family, from Sapcote in Leicestershire, have two daughters, aged 10 and three, and a three-month-old boy. After recently moving to the area, the mum said it was her first time using the centre for lessons as her first daughter was taught to swim in Hinckley.
She said: "I took my first to lessons at the same age, and I never had any issues before. So I'm completely shocked at what's happened. I know she's safe [now], but you can't help picturing what could have happened."
"I recently visited the centre with my three month old and had a swim," she added. "I was really impressed with the facilities and couldn't wait to bring my three-year-old there."
The lesson was at 10.30am in the centre's small pool, with two swimming teachers in attendance, as per the centre's policy. "When we got there I took her to the poolside, said hello to the teachers and introduced her," said the mum.
"There were probably eight or nine other kids in the pool, and to be honest the start of the lesson began fine. She went into the water and I went and sat poolside with my baby in the car seat, just watching.
"I could see one of the teachers helping her, but she was struggling a little and had to use a noodle float like some of the other kids. When she was standing, she could only just keep her chin above the water and kept holding on to the wall in the middle."
Towards the end of the 30-minute lesson, the children were asked to climb out of the pool. But due to the toddler's height, her mum said, she was unable to climb out and had to get assistance from one of the teachers.
The youngsters were then asked to jump back in, said the mum, and run through the water to the other end of the pool and get out using the pool's steps, which she said were half submerged.
The mum said her daughter was too afraid to jump in, however, and again had to receive assistance to get back into the pool. The youngster walked through the water to the submerged steps, as instructed, and that was when the incident began.
She said: "The teachers were on the other end of the pool, helping the kids jump in. But they both had their backs turned and weren't watching the kids as they got to the other end.
"I was encouraging my daughter the whole length, and at one point a teacher turned around once to join in, but not again after that." She added: "My child was already showing signs of a little struggle, and regardless of the situation, it's their jobs to watch her till she gets to the other end.
"As I said before, she could only just keep her chin above the water. I was sat watching her like a hawk. When she got to the other end, she tripped over the underwater steps, but she'd never been to this pool before so how was she to have known. The next part happened so quick, my instincts just took over."
The mum said that within seconds of the child tripping, her daughter had gone under the water. The mum rushed to her aid, going into the pool fully clothed to get the little girl out.
"She wasn't able to get her footing. You could only just see the top of her swim cap, but her head had gone completely under. Thankfully she's OK now, but it was so sad, I couldn't even see her.
"Before I knew it, I was in the water dragging her out. She was coughing and spluttering. By that point the teachers had turned around and figured out what had happened. It was horrific. I was hysterical.
"I feel responsible as I've put her in that situation - I put my child in their care. But I expected her to be cared for and looked after, especially in such a dangerous environment as water."
Luke Parratt, Everyone Active’s general manager, said “We can confirm an incident took place during a swimming lesson in the small pool at Enderby Leisure and Golf Centre on Saturday, April 9. Two teachers were in the pool at the time, in line with lesson protocol.
"Both teachers were at one end of the pool helping children to jump in, and unfortunately a child lost her balance after she had walked past them on her way to the steps. We would like to apologise for this incident and can confirm the parent has been offered a full refund, while an internal investigation is under way.”
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