Case Summary: John Rudderham
Jan 10, 2021CASE SUMMARY
A 16-year-old John Rudderham from Hull went to the Atlantic Water Park in Scarborough on the afternoon of Sunday, 18 June 2000, where he would later have an epileptic seizure in the pool and drown (The Northern Echo, Jan 2004; The Press, June 2000). John had gone to the pool as part of a group of eight friends including Anthony Wilkinson who described conditions in the pool as “packed” to the degree that you couldn't swim either across or down the pool (The Northern Echo, August 2001). The pool permitted between 400 and 600 users at any one time, with up to 1000 users in the vicinity of the complex.
During his swim, John was spotted jumping into the water by fellow swimmer Bethany Lorains but did not resurface. John had an epileptic seizure whilst underwater which went undetected by lifeguards and those in the pool. Bethany, and two other teenage girls, Terri Simpson and Jade Brown, sought the assistance of the nearest lifeguard as they were concerned John had not resurfaced.
There were two lifeguards on duty on the day, the nearest of which was a student and recently qualified lifeguard Jason Prosser having started his first lifeguard job only eight days prior to the accident (BBC, 2001; Wainwright, 2001). The three girls told Mr Prosser that John had not resurfaced and was at the bottom of the pool. Mr Prosser told the girls that there was a pipe that blew bubbles on the bottom of the pool (which there was) and that they had mistaken this for their friend John (BBC News, 2001).
It was only when a fourth girl, Jenna Stevenson, who was 13 years old, dived down and raised John’s arm to the surface that it became clear that it was John at the bottom of the pool (Wainwright, 2001). It was at this point, five minutes after John was first spotted not re-surfacing, that the second lifeguard on the poolside realised John was in danger and initiated a rescue by jumping into the water. Mr Prosser assisted the second lifeguard to recover John to the poolside and the lifeguards began CPR. John was transferred to Scarborough Hospital but died the following day as a result of drowning following an epileptic seizure in the water (The Northern Echo, 2001).
Coroner’s Inquest (2001) (Unreported, 30th August, Scarborough Coroner’s Court)
The inquest into John’s death was held on 29-30 August 2001 (The Northern Echo, 2001). North Yorkshire Coroner Michael Oakley presided over the inquest. Mr Prosser declined to give evidence at the inquest after taking legal advice but gave a statement said (BBC News, 2001):
I was not able to see clearly because a wave machine had made the water cloudy.
The inquest heard evidence from Ms Zoe Craig-Tyler who said there were two lifeguards on duty in the area. It heard how Mr Prosser had only eight days of experience and had initially ignored warnings that John was on the bottom of the pool. The Council’s manager of indoor and outdoor pools, Mr Chris Hughes, told the inquest (The Northern Echo, 2001):
The number of bathers to be allowed in the water had been reduced from 625 to 416 but the Atlantis complex as a whole could accommodate 1,152 people. Mr Hughes said the council was now looking at installing a high-tech camera and alarm system.
Lee Farnsworth, who was on holiday with his family in the pool the same day, also confirmed at the later inquest how crowded conditions had made it impossible to swim lengths in the pool. When asked by the Coroner about the supervision in place, Mr Farnsworth said (The Northern Echo, August 2001):
There should have been a more obvious presence of lifeguards considering the busy conditions. There were kids in the pool who were unsupervised. I heard screaming There's a body, but it was at least five minutes before the boy was pulled out.
(i) Coroner Michael Oakley’s verdict
Coroner Michael Oakley said in summing up that there had not been gross negligence and recorded a verdict of accidental death (The Northern Echo, 2001; BBC News, 2001; The Northern Echo, Jan 2004):
John drowned after suffering an epileptic fit in the water. What is at issue is the training and competence of the lifeguards. Two of three lifeguards involved in the incident were very inexperienced. The pool should have been evacuated on the discovery of the incident and it was not.
Following John’s epileptic seizure in the water, Jason Prosser was the nearest lifeguard to the incident. He was inexperienced and his actions on the day should have been different. When alerted by the girls, he should have taken action immediately by blowing his whistle three times and entering the water. If this had been done vital seconds might have been saved and John’s life might have been saved had he been quicker to react.
Improvements in safety and training are, in my view, needed at the pool. I urge the council to take on board issues raised during the hearing. I have considered whether the verdict should be one which is aggravated by neglect, but I have decided, in this case, this was not the case. My verdict is one of accidental death.
(ii) Response to the Coroner’s verdict
John's father, also called John Rudderham, has said (BBC News, 2001; Wainwright, 2001):
We are disappointed that the ruling had not officially recognised negligence. The family is now considering suing Scarborough Council, which runs the pool. The lifeguard definitely didn't have enough training. It is unbelievable that somebody could be at the bottom of a pool for five minutes before anything was done.
If the lifeguard had reacted when the girls noticed him underwater and tried to get attention, if they'd have listened straight away and got him out of the water, at that point he could have still been here.
R v Scarborough Borough Council and Jason Prosser (2004) (Unreported, 28 January, Scarborough Magistrates Court)
On 28 January 2004, Scarborough Borough Council pleaded guilty to a single breach of s.3(1) HSWA 1974. Mr Prosser also pleaded guilty to a single breach of s.7(1) HSWA 1974. The HSE led the prosecution. The facts relevant to sentencing were not in dispute, and the Magistrates proceeded immediately to sentence on the HSE’s account of the facts.
(i) Sentencing hearing
The Magistrates fined Scarborough Council £12,000 for failing to provide adequate training for the lifeguard on duty and ordered the Council to pay £8000 towards the HSE’s prosecution costs.
The Magistrates took account of Mr Prosser’s position as a student of limited means and his difficulty in finding alternative employment outside the sector following the accident. The Magistrates felt that a criminal record and a fine of £500 was the appropriate sentence in the circumstances for his role in Mr Rudderham’s death (The Northern Echo, Jan 2004).
(ii) Post-hearing
The investigation was led by HSE Inspector, Mr Paul Robinson, who said after the sentencing hearing (The Northern Echo, Jan 2004):
Swimming in a swimming pool when qualified lifeguards are on duty is a very healthy and safe form of exercise. People who encounter difficulties while in the water are regularly spotted and assisted to safety. Very unfortunately, each year a few people who get into difficulty, such as John Rudderham, may tragically drown if they are not spotted quickly and rescued.
The court today has recognised that those involved in operating and working at a swimming pool are required to maintain high standards at all times and act quickly in any potential emergency situation. The margin of safety is a matter of minutes before a person can die when submerged underwater.
The Chief Executive Officer of Scarborough Borough Council, Mr John Trebble, said (BBC News, 2001; The Northern Echo, Jan 2004):
The authority has carried out its own inquiry into the tragedy. The court recognised the incident had been an isolated case. We place a very high priority on the safe running of our attractions and Atlantis has provided many hours of safe entertainment for thousands of visitors and residents over the years and has an excellent safety record.
We have carried out a number of improvements since the tragedy. This resulted in some immediate changes, namely the switching off of the bubble machine, a reduction in the number of people allowed into the attraction and an increase in the number of lifeguards on duty.
The Head of Leisure at Scarborough Borough Council, Mr Steve Hollingworth, said:
It was an isolated incident. We have a good record, since the incident, we have had over 40,000 satisfied visitors for the last three years. We will continue to improve safety wherever possible to ensure this doesn't happen again.
The Council’s Health and Safety Officer at the time of the accident, Mr Peter Garbutt, said (The Northern Echo, 2001):
There was turbulence in the water when the pool's bubble system was operating. The system had now been turned off.
References (10)
Note: I wish those affected all the best in their future. No part of this article purports to attribute blame. See our methodology page for further details of how these case summaries are constructed.
Armstrong, J. (2001). Rookie lifeguard let my boy drown. (The Mirror, 30th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/ROOKIE+LIFEGUARD+LET+MY+BOY+DROWN.-a077693732 accessed 22nd December 2020.
BBC News. (2001). Lifeguard ignored plea for help. (29th August, 16:25). Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1515656.stm accessed 22nd December 2020.
BBC News. (2004). Council fined over pool death. (28th January, 20:09). Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/3439603.stm accessed 22nd December 2020.
The Northern Echo. (2000). Two are killed in swim accidents. (20th June, 00:00). Available at: https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/7955816.two-are-killed-in-swim-accidents/ accessed 22nd December 2020.
The Northern Echo. (2001). Father to sue over son’s pool death. (30th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7100193.father-sue-sons-pool-death/ accessed 22nd December 2020.
The Northern Echo. (2001). Pool staff not up to job claim at inquest. (29th August, 00:00). Available at: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7100235.pool-staff-not-job-claim-inquest/ accessed 22nd December 2020.
The Northern Echo. (2004). Council fined £12,000 over pool tragedy. (The Northern Echo, 00:00). Available at: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7002273.council-fined-12-000-pool-tragedy/ accessed 22nd December 2020.
The Telegraph. (2001). Pool lifeguard refused to believe boy was dying. (30th August, 00:01). Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1338912/Pool-lifeguard-refused-to-believe-boy-was-dying.html accessed 22nd December 2020.
The Times. (2004). News in Brief. (29th January, 00:00). Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/news-in-brief-hx9p3zt99t3 accessed 22nd December 2020.
Wainwright, M. (2001). Lifeguard ignored warnings. (The Guardian, 30th August, 14:07). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/aug/30/martinwainwright accessed 22nd December 2020.
Citation: Jacklin, D. (2021). Case Summary: John Rudderham. Water Incident Research Hub, 10 September.
