It’s a common sight in New Zealand backyards – but too often inexpensive, medium sized, unfenced pools play a part in avoidable deaths.

Two years ago, a 20-month-old child drowned in one of them in Hawke’s Bay.

Swim school instructor and Dolphin Academy manager Vicky Rope said it shouldn’t happen in New Zealand, but it continues to, so they are doing everything they can to ensure water safety is at the forefront of every parent’s mind.

She said it is never too early to learn to swim.

“You can put your children into swimming lessons from three-months-old. They go in the water with a parent. When they’re from about age three and up, then they can go into the water with an instructor.”

A coroner’s report into the death said unfenced pools – between 40cm and 120cm high, could be “extremely dangerous”, and should not be used when young children are around.

Calls to ban temporary pools in wake of tragic accident – Watch on TVNZ+

Water Safety New Zealand acting chief executive Gavin Walker said: “If you’re buying one of these things and you’re not fencing it and you’re leaving it full of water, the potential risk, drowning risk, always exists in your backyard.”

Water Safety New Zealand said there has been five drownings of children aged five or under in the past 10 years, and is now calling on the Government to step in before more occur.

“We’d love to see central government ban these pools, the ones in the middle that are deep enough they take several hours to fill,” Walker said.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson said there was a need to balance safety with allowing people choice but added his thoughts are with the family of the toddler who died.

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