Drowning case Pc 'under strain'

Gameli Akuklu was on a play scheme when he drowned

A policeman who was acting as a lifeguard when two boys drowned in a swimming pool has described how the deaths put him under great "strain".

William Kadama and Gameli Akuklu, both 14 and from Colindale, north-west London, were found unconscious on the bottom of the pool at the deep end.

Pc Daniel Phillips, 43, told the Old Bailey how the deaths had ended his marriage and damaged his health.

He denies manslaughter and failing to ensure the safety of children.

The two boys drowned in the Peel Centre pool at Hendon Police Training School in north London on 30 July 2002.

It took two years to get back to full work Pc Daniel Phillips

Pc Phillips was not told he was to be prosecuted until April 2005.

He said the delay in deciding to prosecute him for manslaughter had "put terrible strain and stress on my marriage".

The court heard he had been "quite unwell" for about two months after the incident and was given leave for shock.

He said: "It took two years to get back to full work. I am still under occupational health receiving treatment, care and counselling. My health has deteriorated."

Earlier prosecutors told the court Pc Phillips had been helping a boy with a cut knee when other youths in the pool saw the two boys at the bottom.

'Poorly condition'

Pc Phillips jumped into the water to try to rescue the boys, but he was unable to save them.

"I brought William up first and called for assistance to get him out," he said. "I was struggling with him because he was a large lad.

"Still in the water I gave him ventilation to put some air into his lungs by pinching his nose and blowing through his mouth but I got no reaction."

When he brought Gameli to the surface, Pc Phillips said "his eyes were rolled back and he was in a poorly condition".

"I got him to the side and I tried ventilating him as well and I got a little reaction from him," he said. "When I got him out of the pool I started to resuscitate him."

Prosecutors said although Pc Phillips had been acting "with the best of motives, the best of intentions" he had left the pool and his behaviour had been criminally negligent and caused the deaths of the two friends.

Richard Latham, QC, prosecuting said 29 children from the two Barnet play schemes had arrived at the pool with social workers, but Pc Phillips was the only lifeguard on duty at the time.

The case continues.