Pool tragedy boy’s grandad calls for pre-school swimming lessons

THE grandad of a little boy who drowned on holiday is calling for swimming lessons to be free and a priority for pre-schoolers.

Tributes flooded in for ‘little angel’ Presley Stockton, four, after he died in a hotel swimming pool while on holiday in Los Cristianos, Tenerife.

After hearing about another youngster, aged five drowning in a swimming pool on a family holiday on the Costa del Sol last week, Presley’s grandad Mike Jolley says action needs taking to prevent such deaths.

He said: “Lessons used to be mandatory from a young age. It’s too late leaving it until later in primary school. In Hindley for instance, the Sure Start is right next to Hindley Baths, they should take them from there once a week and make it fun for them. It’ll help them with their physical education and obviously if they get into a situation like Presley did they’d be able to swim and it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Presley was on holiday with his parents Kirsty and Pey (Peter), his stepsister and other relatives when he was pulled from the pool at the four-star Paradise Park Hotel.

Mike, 49, added: “He’d been to the swimming baths but couldn’t swim properly without his arm bands. We still don’t know whether he slipped into the water or jumped in thinking he had his arm bands on. Just a few minutes before he’d been speaking to my wife on Face Time and showing her around the place. His dad had literally just sat back as Presley was busy chatting and the next thing he knew he’d disappeared and all hell broke lose.”

Mike’s call comes as the government has announced a £320M PE and Sport Premium to make sure children can swim confidently when they finish primary school, to fund extra lessons for children who have not met the national curriculum expectation after core swimming lessons.