Bathing Pools drama sparks mother's warning

Tuesday 06 August 2024

An 8-year old boy had to be rescued after his knee became stuck between the wall and a railing at the Bathing Pools, with his mum now urging others to be cautious when climbing in and out of the water.

Cavani Butcher was enjoying a day at La Vallette with his mum, and their family and friends when she noticed something was amiss.

She noticed him struggling to get out of the water, using a hand rail fixed to the wall of the pool.

Realising he was stuck she rushed to help him free his knee. 

"He's a confident swimmer because being brought up on an island I've always thought that you need to know how to swim, so I do take my eyes off him sometimes when we're down at the Bathing Pools because he's a strong swimmer," explained Mrs Butcher.

Pictured: The railing where Cavani's knee was stuck fast.

"He was jumping in to the water, getting back out, and jumping in the water again.

"There's two railings just off the steps, and maybe they're not there to help people get in and out of the water but I remember using them as a kid to get in and out of the water and it never caused any harm, but I think what's happened is where they've been used over the years they've bent in a little bit and they basically need to be removed. One of them is hanging off and anyone could cut themselves on it.

Pictured: The railing where Cavani's knee was stuck fast.

"I had looked over at Cavani jumping in and having a good time, and then I noticed him going backwards but bringing himself back up and I thought 'how did he do that?' and 'why's he doing that?' After a few seconds my mother's instinct kicked in and I thought 'he's stuck!'.

"I ran over to try and get him out but his knee was stuck and he said it hurt."

Cavani's knee was not only stuck but it was swelling up due to the angle it was at and the pressure on it.

Mrs Butcher couldn't lift him out of the water because of the way his knee was wedged stuck.

A nurse who was also swimming in the pool at the same time and other people also helped. They used suncream and WD40 to try and lubricate his leg to slide it out, before trying some washing up liquid from the Bathing Pools café which did the trick. Mrs Butcher said they were about to call 999 for help when his knee slipped out of the gap between the railings and the wall.

"He was fine afterwards and he had no injuries, but there was some swelling and he was in shock," said Cavani's mum.

"He sat on the beach for the rest of the time we were there and he didn't go back in the water."

Those ill-effects didn't last long either though with Cavani able to play football that evening and he has since returned to swimming at the Bathing Pools.

His mum wants to avoid anyone else getting stuck in the same place though with a warning to adults and children alike.

Pictured: Kyra-Lea Butcher's post on Facebook was shared by other people to spread the warning.

"I just knew I had to stay calm for Cavani's sake because I didn't want him to panic, as there was nothing we could do. We were lucky that the tide wasn't high.

"It was afterwards really that I started to think what could have happened, and I thought if he wasn't strong enough with his core strength to pull himself back up he could have really seriously injured his knee if he fell back and twisted his knee.

"I started feeling sick thinking about the worse outcomes and that's why I put my post on Facebook just to warn other parents to be aware of this railing.

"If it was in good nick still then it maybe wouldn't have happened but's narrow enough for a kid's knee to get stuck in and that's obviously happened over the years and how well used it's been."