Swings freed by rules check-up

The Great Somerford council closed the swings last week after an inspection by a manufacturer found that they were in breach of European Union standards because the frame was too high.

However, Elsa Davies, chief executive of the National Playing Fields Association, said there is no EU regulation governing the height of frames for swings.

Toby Sturgis, parish council chairman, said he believed the inspector confused the height of the frame with the 'fall height', which did exceed the required two metres. He said the ROSPA official had made 'minor recommendations' to ensure the swings would meet safety standards.

Despite suggestions that playgrounds around the country were now threatened by EU rules, the European standard BS EN 1176 was in fact adopted as a British Standard in 1998.

A British Standards spokes-man stressed that the standards were 'a guideline for playground equipment', not legally enforceable, and that the decision to stop using the swings was 'a matter for the council and its advisors'.

The acting director of the Children's Play Council, Issy Cole-Hamilton, warned that 'over-rigorous implementation of standards could lead to playgrounds being closed unnecessarily and children playing in more dangerous conditions'.

But Elsa Davies said that while it was 'popular to knock European regulations', they represented 'a good and sensible standard for the safety of our children'.

The Play Safety Forum, a grouping of national agencies, revealed last year that 'of the two million or so childhood accident cases treated by hospitals each year, less than 2 per cent involve playground equipment'. In Managing risk in play provision, it said a balance had to be struck between the need for a degree of risk-taking in play provision and children's safety requirements.