Council bans backstroke in pool
Visitors to a council-run swimming pool have been banned from doing backstroke, it emerged today.
Bathers at the Daisyfield pool in Blackburn, Lancashire, have been told they can only do front strokes during busy periods when the pool is sectioned into lanes.
Council officials said they fear people may cause collisions because they cannot see where they are going.
Councillor Kate Hollern, executive member for culture, leisure and sport at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "This is not about threats of legal action.
"We are limiting the times when people can swim backstroke to prevent dangerous collisions.
"We would expect that people would be concerned for their own safety as well as that of others and we are being proactive in introducing these rules.
"These rules are based on the 'lane etiquette for swimmers' issued by the Institute of Sport and Recreation Management, and are designed be inclusive to ensure that all people can use our facilities in a safe way."
