Council bans rubber rings and armbands over 'safety fears'

It's been described as health and safety gone mad.

Bournemouth's leisure centres have been banned from lending armbands and rubber rings to swimmers because it's against professional guidelines.

The industry rules are designed to protect swimmers from "risks" such as catching germs from blowing up water wings by mouth.

The Littlewood, Stokewood and Kinson swimming pools would only have been able to lend the inflatables if they followed a list of rules which would probably need a full-time member of staff to deal with.



In order to lend inflatables to customers, each centre must:

Implement a daily inspection programme to check for faulty valves and to ensure there are no punctures.

Put a hygiene and cleansing scheme in place to deal with any issues arising from different people blowing them up.

Introduce a formal replacement policy for faulty equipment.

Provide written instructions and guidelines for staff about how to deal with issues related to inflatables.

Create a policy to ensure arm bands of the right size are issued and parents are given specific instructions about how to use them.