Holiday park where boy, five, drowned defends no-lifeguard policy

A holiday park where a five-year-old boy drowned has defended its decision not to have lifeguards on duty at all times. 

Robin Van Caliskan was found face down in the pool at the Atlantic Reach holiday park just hours after his family pitched up their tent at the site in Newquay, Cornwall, on July 31, 2023.

At an inquest into Robin's death, Cornwall Council safety officer Ann-Marie Jameson, said that while it is not illegal not to have lifeguards even at peak times, she admitted it was 'strange and unusual' that none were on duty.

Ms Jameson added that she previously recommended they use lifeguards at the park following an incident in 2020 when an elderly man suffered a medical episode in the pool and had to be resuscitated. 

But, Henry Vernon, the managing director of Atlantic Reach, defended the decision, adding that the holiday park's own health and safety risk assessment had led them to decide that no lifeguards were required. 

Mr Vernon told the hearing, held in Truro, that the number of people using the pool at any one time was capped at 54 and is the same all year round, whether it is a winter's day or the busy summer holidays. At the time of the incident 46 people had been in the indoor pool including the Caliskan family.

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Mr Vernon said: 'Lifeguards are not provided on normal days and we control the number of people allowed in the pool. We would only provide lifeguards on large inflatable sessions but these are very infrequent.'

The managing director confirmed there are no pictures of lifeguards on the company's website or current social media and reiterated that signs saying there are no lifeguards on duty are displayed in the pool area, changing rooms and showers. 

He added that since the death of Robin, additional signs have been installed by the leisure desk where guests have to go to book a pool session, while the message is now made clearer on the website and in all correspondence with customers.

Mr Vernon told the inquest that all leisure staff at Atlantic Reach are first aid trained and know how to use rescue equipment such as 'torpedo' buoys similar to those used by RNLI lifeguards on Cornish beaches, a pull pole and orange life ring are all present by the pool along with first aid kits. A defibrillator is also available by the leisure desk.

The inquest heard that in October 2020, an elderly gentleman was doing health rehabilitation swimming when he suffered from a medical episode. While he was successfully resuscitated, there were no lifeguards in place at the time. 

Ms Jameson told the hearing that she would expect Atlantic Reach to have pool side supervision and lifeguards at least during the busy tourist months especially after she recommended they use lifeguards following the 2020 incident.

She told the inquest: 'Constant pool side supervision by lifeguards provides the best assurance of pool users safety.' In her health and safety report following Robin's death, she wrote: 'Had pool side supervision been in situ at the time of the incident then this may have resulted in a positive outcome.'

Ms Jameson said Atlantic Reach had a near miss in October 2020 and now a fatality, and while signage and rescue safety equipment was in place this is expected as a 'baseline' adding that lifeguards would be better.

She told the inquest: 'They meet the minimum standards however when they have had one near miss and one fatality I would expect them to do more. As a company they have not learned from the previous incident in 2020. For a business that is so busy, not to have lifeguards is unusual and a bit strange but not illegal.'

On day one of the inquest, questions were also raised as to whether the lighting was adequate in the indoor pool. Mr Vernon said natural light comes through large wall windows and is supplemented by two large flood lights. 

He added that customers are reminded that parents must provide constant pool side supervision of any children under the age of eight, adding that through the booking system, not only numbers are controlled but so are parent to children ratios.

'At the time of this incident,' Mr Vernon said, 'the pool was operating under normal conditions and lifeguards were not on duty.'

Earlier in the hearing, Robin's parents Cemal and Ferzane Caliskan said they had booked a three-night stay at the holiday park last summer. 

They added that after arriving on site and putting up their tent, the family, who are originally from Turkey but live in Plymouth, decided to book a swimming session in the indoor pool.

The couple said they chose Atlantic Reach, which has 185 camping pitches and 230 holiday homes, because of the impression they had that lifeguards would be present. 

During their evidence, Mr and Mrs Caliskan said they saw images of lifeguards on the holiday park's website and Facebook page albeit dating back to 2015.

Robin's parents said they didn't see any signage in the changing and shower rooms or in the pool area itself saying that no lifeguards were on duty. 

They said they didn't see any signs saying that parents must accompany children under the age of eight in the pool at all times.

When Ferzane could not see Robin in the baby pool where she thought he had been, she and her husband tried to find him. Robin was found face down at the bottom of the adult pool. 

He was pulled out by members of the public and CPR was started by an off duty police officer and a first-aid trained member of staff until paramedics arrived.

Unfortunately Robin could not be resuscitated and he was declared deceased at the scene. 

The inquest continues.