Parents warned of water danger (From Penarth Times)

Parents warned of water danger

PENARTH parents must act now to cut the risk of child drowning deaths, a local expert has warned.

Leading child care specialist Professor Jo Sibert, who practices at Llandough Hospital, is urging mums and dads to wise up to the dangers posed by garden ponds.

The eminent consultant and his team have been investigating cases of drowning over the past ten years.

But while an article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), shows a drop in general incidents, accidents in family ponds have increased by nearly 100 percent.

Statistics for the UK specifically, and for British children drowning abroad show some alarming results.

The number of children drowning in garden ponds rose from 11 in 1988-1989 to 21 in 1998-1999, while drownings were also increasing abroad, mostly in hotel or apartment pools, with at least 14 British children dying.

However, there is a dramatic drop in youngsters drowning in communal pools - 104 children in the UK in 1998-1999 compared with 149 in 1988-1999, representing a significant fall. The team found decreases in drowning in rivers, canals and lakes - from 56 deaths in 1988-1989 to 31 in 1998-1999.

The BMJ article states: "Garden ponds remain a real threat to toddlers and should be covered or fenced. In the ten years since 1998-1999, there has been a focus on the supervision of activities with schoolchildren and this is reflected by the reduction of river, lake and canal drownings."

The team also found that children with autistic spectrum disorder might be at increased risk.

Professor Sibert advised parents: "Never have a garden pond with children under five and look at the safety of the pool on holiday."