Blair orders review of swim rules

Carolyn Warner told Tony Blair the swimming rules were "crazy"

The prime minister has promised to help a mother in her fight for the right to take her children swimming.

New safety guidance for swimming pools says that every child under four must have one-to-one adult supervision.

But Carolyn Warner, from Maidstone, said that stopped her from taking both her children swimming at the same time.

She raised the issue with Tony Blair during his recent visit to Kent and in the Commons on Wednesday he ordered an urgent review of safety rules in pools.

There have been protests outside Maidstone Leisure Centre

Mrs Warner chairs the campaign group Right to Swim, which was set up after she and her sister, who both have two young children, were banned from swimming with them at Maidstone Leisure Centre.

She said she told Mr Blair the rules, which were across the UK, were "crazy".

"I explained that my six-year-old now blames my two-year-old for the fact that we can't go swimming together as a family," she said.

Around 250 swimming pools across the country have adopted the guidelines, which say there has to be one adult for every child under the age of four, and one adult for every two children aged between four and eight years old.

'Practical rules'

The prime minister told the Commons that he thought the current situation and the new guidelines had given rise to "a complete nonsense".

He said he thought parents were "perfectly well able to judge how best to look after their children".

Mrs Warner said she was "thrilled to pieces" that Mr Blair was going to help find a solution.

She said although safety was important, swimming pools were applying the guidance so strictly that the vast majority of families were now affected.

"We do not want to be reckless, but the rules have got to be practical," she said.