Removal of pond recommended following toddler's death

A Cork city coroner has recommended the removal of a man-made pond from a caravan park in Youghal where a two-year-old boy drowned last summer.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane made the recommendation at the inquest into the death of Glen McNamara Twomey of Ardculann, Holly Hill, Cork, who drowned in the pond at the Hilltop Caravan Park, Dysart, in Youghal, on July 8th, 2006.

The inquest heard that the owner of the caravan park had applied to Youghal County Council to have the pond filled in after a child fell in and was rescued in 2001, but his application was refused on the grounds that the pond was a protected structure.

A visibly distressed Liz McNamara told the inquest she was staying at her mobile home in the Hilltop Caravan Park with Glen and her two other children on the morning of July 8th. The toddler, wearing a green-and-white jacket and a Spiderman mask, was popping his head in and out of the door.

Ms McNamara went to the other end of the caravan to collect some ironing and, when she returned, she could not see Glen. She searched the area close to the caravan, and then got into the car and drove out the driveway towards the beach to see if she could find him.

When Ms McNamara returned, a man from the caravan two doors up said Glen had been found by the pond. She ran to the pond and saw a woman doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her son. An ambulance and gardaí arrived at the scene, but all efforts to revive him were unsuccessful and he died at Cork University Hospital shortly after lunchtime.

Don Dorian, managing director of Borak Investments Ltd, which owns the caravan park, told the inquest that when a child had got into difficulty in the pond in 2001, he got a health and safety consultant to examine it.

The consultant recommended the pond be filled in and Mr Dorian applied to Youghal Town Council in April 2001 to refill the pond. He was refused permission in 2002 and appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála. However, the planning authority turned down his appeal on amenity grounds.

In her deposition, pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said Glen had died from acute cardiovascular failure due to drowning. Dr Cullinane recommended the pond be removed and she said she would draw the attention of the relevant authorities to her verdict.