Beckenham Place Park swimming lake feared 'unsafe' by parents

The child, believed to be a boy, was taken to hospital with minor injuries after an air ambulance landed in Beckenham Place Park shortly before 4pm.

A woman who was at the scene but did not want to be named told News Shopper she put a boy who was “breathing, but very quiet” in the recovery position.

Although she did not see what happened, she said the boy was believed to be under water for 10 seconds before a family member dragged him out.

The lake was unveiled to the public on Saturday

Before she spotted the boy, she rescued two other girls who “panicked” when the water suddenly became incredibly deep.

The lake, which was renovated in the £6.8 million revamp of the park, operates wild swimming sessions supervised by lifeguards at specified times throughout the week.

READ MORE: Swimming lake in Beckenham park opened to the public

But according to PTP, which operates lifeguarding at Beckenham Place Park, the lake is closed to the public and does not station lifeguards on Mondays.

A dog walker and concerned parent who gave his name as Ben said he saw “lots of older kids swimming and plenty of people in the lake” on Monday afternoon.

He said: “If you go to a local leisure centre, children aren’t allowed in the water unsupervised.

“You hear stories in the summer about children and even young men who have drowned.

“Who’s going to take responsibility when there’s another little coffin led out of there?”

As it happened: Child rescued from water at swimming lake in Beckenham Place Park

Another parent told News Shopper she had to rescue her nine-year-old son from the paddling pool on Sunday after the water suddenly got deeper.

"I had to go in and save him," she said. "I'm 5’6 and the water came up to my mouth.

"It's not safe. There is no warning about the depth of water.

"I can't even swim and not a single person helped me. Nobody is taking responsibility for the paddling pool.

"My son is really shaken up by it."

The lake was renovated as part of a £6.8 million revamp of the park

A spokeswoman for Lewisham Council said the regulations around use of the lake is “explicit” on the PTP website.

She said: “Safety is of paramount importance at the lake. There is clear signage beside the lake stating the opening times and regulations around lake use.

“Lewisham Council compiled a full health and safety assessment which was overseen by professionals.”

She also hit back at reports the lake was left without lifeguards during the opening weekend, insisting staff were on duty during opening hours.

The spokeswoman added parents will be reminded they must keep their children under supervision, particularly outside of opening hours.

According to the PTP website, the minimum age for open water swimming is eight years old, and children must be able to swim 25 metres.