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Nine children taken to hospital after chlorine leak

Everyone Active The smaller training pool is shown in an image from the Everyone Active websiteEveryone Active
The leak was found in a learner pool, the fire service said

Nine children and two adults have been taken to hospital following a chlorine leak at a swimming pool in west London, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) said.

Crews were called to the Vale Farm Sports Centre on Watford Road, Sudbury, at 13:34 BST.

The 11 people were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, an LAS spokesperson said.

BBC News understands that while most of the patients are not seriously unwell, three of the children may need to undergo further medical examination.

Google Exterior of Vale Farm leisure centreGoogle
About 150 people were evacuated after the leak was detected

A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesperson said its crews "carried out a sweep of the building where a chlorine leak was found in a learner pool on the ground floor of the three-storey building".

"Around 150 people left the building before the arrival of the brigade," they added.

The LAS also sent its hazardous area response team.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the leisure centre had been "evacuated as a precaution" and roads had been closed.

Chris Williams, the area manager for Everyone Active, which operates the centre, said: "Safety is our top priority and we are taking this incident very seriously.

"We are conducting a full investigation into the cause and will implement necessary measures to prevent similar occurrences in future."

He added that the centre reopened at 16:00 but the pool remained still closed.

Neil Nerva, the cabinet member for community health and wellbeing at Brent Council, said he was "seeking reassurance" from Everyone Active and added that the pool would remain closed until further notice.

What is chlorine and is it dangerous?

Chlorine is part of the group of chemicals called halogens, which include fluorine, bromine and iodine, Public Health England (PHE) says.

In its liquid form it is used to treat water supplies and swimming pools to prevent the transmission of waterborne diseases.

Exposure to liquid or gaseous chlorine can cause irritation or burns to the skin and eyes, PHE says.

Children are expected to be affected by chlorine in the same way as adults.

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