Extreme Pond Swimming

By Rob Last edited 227 months ago
Extreme Pond Swimming
constable_pond.jpg

The Hampstead Pond debacle ratched up another notch yesterday as the case hit the High Court, and the real dangers behind the extreme sport of 'splashing about in ponds' became fully apparent.

In case you're unaware of the history behind this, last summer the Corporation of London rejected a proposal by the Heath Winter Swimming Club to allow "self-regulated swimming in a natural pond on public ground" because of health and safety risks.

So the club have now launched a legal battle to assert their rights in the face of what Michael Beloff QC called "the nanny state".

But the corporation are citing the infamous section 3 of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act... which we think is the same section that means you have to bend your knees and not your back when you lift heavy boxes at work.

Check back to Londonist next week for more exciting updates from the Hampstead ponds case (or you could just watch reconstructions on Sky News).

Last Updated 08 April 2005