Boy, 4, drowned at 'woefully lax' Knapp House activity centre

A four-year-old boy drowned on holiday in an activity centre swimming pool with no lifeguard and "cloudy" water.

Alexander Miller - known as George - was found at the bottom of the pool almost three hours after going missing in August 2017.

Knapp House activity centre in Northam, Devon, previously pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach.

The judge at Exeter Crown Court said the centre had been "woefully lax" and fined them £60,000.

They have also been ordered to pay £30,000 legal costs.

George was on holiday with his parents Julian Miller and Ruth Hill, from Weymouth, Dorset, as part of a week away organised by Narcotics Anonymous.

On 28 August 2017 George, his brother, sister and father went swimming.

Mr Miller and his two other children left the pool at 12:40 but could not find George.

David Sapiecha, for the prosecution, said: "Mr Miller thought he caught a glimpse of George outside but he was mistaken."

Family and staff searched for George in the pool building as well as outside.

The court heard a tarpaulin cover had been pulled over the pool, and the building was locked up with George's body still in the deep end.

Other families had also used the pool in the period between George going missing and his body being discovered.

He was found when police were called and an officer ordered the 12m (39ft) by 6m (20ft) indoor pool to be dragged with a net.

Torridge District Council prosecuted Knapp House for a breach of section 3 of the Health and Safety At Work Act.

Mr Sapiecha said there was no risk assessment, no lifeguard, poor water quality, poor signage and nobody in a position of responsibility to deal with any problems.

He said these failures were "a significant cause of the death of George Miller by drowning".

The prosecution said the police officer at the scene described the 40-year-old pool as "extremely cloudy".

Knapp House had asked an employee to open and close the pool and check there was no damage but not to act as a lifeguard.

Narcotics Anonymous said it understood a lifeguard was provided when the pool was in use.The Knapp House employee provided George with a buoyancy aid which the prosecution said was too big and could come off too easily as it did not have crotch straps.

The court was shown a video of George jumping into the pool wearing the buoyancy aid the day before the tragedy.

Judge David Evans said it was clear George "must have drowned in the pool unnoticed".

The judge said visibility in the pool was "wholly inadequate" and seemed to have been a "chronic problem".

He said people using the pool would "naturally assume" if a member of staff was present they "were there to act as a lifeguard".

He acknowledged George's father had a "primary duty of care" but said there had been "clear and obvious failures" by Knapp House.

The judge added: "There is nothing I can do in passing sentence that could ever come close to making up for this awful tragedy and George's absence.

"No sentence can repair the unbearable pain his loss has caused.

"The bottom line is that the way in which the pool was being made available was very lax indeed. It was woefully lax."

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