Boy, 10, gains dive qualification

Patrick hopes to dive at the Great Barrier Reef

A Bristol schoolboy has passed his scuba diving examinations at the youngest age possible.

Patrick Delaney, 10, of St George, has gained his Padi qualifications allowing him to dive to a maximum depth of 12m in open water. Adults can dive to 18m.

After showing he knew how to prepare his kit, Patrick carried out theory and practical tests under the direction of a qualified dive teacher.

"I was pretty nervous and wasn't sure I'd done all that well," he said.

Just looking at fish is cool Patrick Delaney

"The tests he was put through are exactly the same as for an adult," said Patrick's father - a qualified dive instructor - also called Patrick Delaney.

Young Patrick, who only turned 10 on Monday, caught the dive bug after watching his father take dive classes.

"My dad teaches people and sometimes he takes me to the pool with him, and he takes people into the deep end and I watch them, and that made me figure out what it might be like," he said.

Patrick, who attends Our Lady of Lourdes school in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, took the exams over two days, finishing on Tuesday.

Now that he has gained his qualification he plans to go for a dive on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

"I've seen pictures and I'd really like to dive there," he said. "Just looking at fish is cool."

Patrick will have to wait for more than two years before he can take an advanced course.