Family of man who died in Mile End swimming pool approve release of CCTV for lifeguard training

Anthony Grant, who suffered a heart attack while swimming in Mile End Leisure Centre in 2016, was lying submerged in the pool for over five minutes before a member of the public spotted him and alerted the lifeguard.

The lifeguard, who had been on duty throughout, then performed an emergency rescue, but Mr Grant, 56, died poolside.

An inquest was held in an effort to identify the chain of events that led to Mr Grant’s death and last week, a prevention of future deaths report was issued by coroner Mary Hassell.

“In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken,” she said.

“The clip provides the most vivid reminder possible of the need for constant vigilance on poolside.

“Once seen, this is a piece of film unlikely to be forgotten, and Mr Grant’s family hope it can be used to save other lives.”

Ms Hassell said there were a number of ways Mr Grant’s death could have been averted.

“Quite apart from the actions of an individual lifeguard, there are many ways pool safety could have been approached differently on that day,” she said.

“The lifeguards could have changed position after half an hour as had been intended. There could have been more than one lifeguard on poolside. The lifeguards could have been supported by a motion early warning system. These are all matters for the industry to explore,” she added.

Ms Hassell said it was “a very generous act on the part of Mr Grant’s family.”

“It seems to me that there is something uniquely powerful in lifeguards in training being given the opportunity to watch real events such as those on this clip,” she said.

The inquest was held in November, with the prevention of future deaths report shared last week with organisations including the Royal Life Saving Society UK, Mr Grant’s daughter and the managing director of Greenwich Leisure Limited, the company that owns Mile End Leisure Centre.