LIFEGUARDS are set to be removed from some swimming lessons at four of Oxford’s pools.

The changes will affect Swim School sessions at Blackbird Leys, Barton and Ferry leisure centres along with Temple Cowley Pools.

Fusion Lifestyle, which runs the facilities in partnership with Oxford City Council, has said if the lessons take up the whole pool and the teacher is on the side of the pool, they won’t have an extra lifeguard.

Marcella May, from Cowley, has been taking her children to Temple Cowley Pools for eight years and is now concerned for their safety.

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The mother-of-three said: “If you have a lifeguard you have an extra pair of eyes, they have an exemplary safety record but something’s going to happen, someone’s going to get hurt.”

The 35-year-old has been taking her son Nyan, eight, and daughter Taya, seven, to the lessons from a young age and said she’s not sure if she’ll send her six-month-old Kylan after the changes.

She said: “It will make me think twice about it, my youngest will be starting to learn to swim soon and you need an extra pair of eyes to make it safe. There are at least four different groups at different stages in these lessons, in the deep end most of the time, and there’ll be one person keeping an eye on them.

“We’ve been coming here for eight years and they’ve had a really good safety record, but it only takes one incident to ruin that.”

City Councillor for Cowley, and qualified lifeguard, David Henwood said: “It is imperative swimmers using the pool, do so in a safe environment. I am concerned lifeguards have been removed, during swimming lessons, and will make further enquiries to make sure pool users are safe.”

The city council said the changes were in line with Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) guidelines.

Spokesman Chofamba Sithole said: “We have changed our swim school arrangement to reflect industry practice and be in line with ASA guidelines. When the pool is being used exclusively for school swimming lessons and the teacher is poolside and fully rescue test qualified, no further lifeguarding is required.”

City council board member for leisure Mike Rowley said: “The change relates to two hours a week of swimming lessons across Oxford, where there are only learners in the pool and swimming instructors are poolside, and the learners are under the close supervision of the instructors who are well-qualified to do the job of a lifeguard if any of them get into trouble.

“An extra lifeguard is not therefore necessary.”

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