Pond drama sparks safety fears

Jade Worger thought son Archie would lose consciousness after slipping into the Peace Garden pond earlier this week.

The toddler was distracted by a dog and left his mum’s side momentarily before losing his footing.

Fortunately, Archie was given the all-clear after his mum took him to A&E for a check-up.

But 22-year-old Miss Worger, of Richmond Road, Ipswich, is concerned that sufficient standards are not in place to prevent similar accidents happening in the future.

The mum-of-two said: “There’s not enough fencing around the pond. It just stops.

“Archie was in the water struggling to get out but I was able to reach in and help him.

“The water wasn’t all that deep but the bottom of the pond was very slippery.

“I thought he was going to pass out. I went to the Reg Driver Centre in a panic and they told me to take him to A&E.”

Miss Worger said Archie became apprehensive around water immediately after his accident and was reluctant to have a bath when they returned home from the hospital.

Borough spokesman Max Stocker said the accident was regrettable but the council felt enough preventative measures were in place at Christchurch Park.

He added: “We have put signs throughout the park warning of the hazards of water.

“We also have a safe water policy in place with ROSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).

“There is railing around a lot of the Peace Garden pond but also a lot of shrubbery.

“We want our parks to be as safe as possible and there have certainly been no other recorded accidents involving children and water.

“We are obviously very sad that Archie had this accident and we advised his mum to take him to a medical centre for a check up.”

n Are you a regular visitor to Christchurch Park? Should the pond be surrounded by more fencing? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk