Water safety warning

Residents are being urged by the Royal Life Saving Society to check for pool safety as summer heats up.

The Royal Life Saving 2010 National Drowning Report shows that 33 children aged under five years drowned in 2009—an increase on the previous year.

Royal Life Saving chief executive officer Rob Bradley said thousands of pools across Australia were potentially death traps because fence gates weren’t working or there were loose or unsafe fences.

Mr Bradley urged residents in Bunbury, Australind and Eaton to put their home pools through the Royal Life Saving Home Pool safety checklist.

‘‘Some people don’t realise that over time or as a result of something as simple as a big storm, your fence may weaken, rust, or break, rendering it useless,’’ he said.

‘‘The simple fact that child drowning is rising is alarming.’’

Centre supervisor for Vac Swim, Heather Freeman, said demand for swimming lessons in Bunbury was strong, with nearly 500 children enrolled with the centre for lessons over the summer holidays.

She said it was important children were comfortable in the water from a young age and that swimming in environments other than a pool required different approaches.

‘‘It’s important to teach children to become water competent away from the swimming pool so when they go to the beach to swim they’re a lot safer,’’ Mrs Freeman said.

‘‘A lot of children do have pool experience, but not that many of them have beach experience.’’

‘‘We run the same program as they would get in a swimming pool, but deal with the beach elements.’’