The lycra suits, which encase the swimmer’s legs and end in a flared fish tail, have raised concerns after children struggled to keep afloat

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Mermaid-style swimsuits have been banned in New Zealand’s largest city after being deemed a safety risk and a distraction for lifeguards by Auckland council.

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The suits – which have also been banned in UK public pools – fully encase the wearer’s legs from the hips down and end in a flared fish tail.

“Mermaid tails are definitely causing some concerns both here and in Australia, and have already been banned from public pool use in the United Kingdom,” says Rob McGee, Auckland council’s leisure manager.

“While they are designed for competent swimmers to use in the water, even the manufacturers recommend one-to-one supervision, which we can’t give in public pools.”

A spokeswoman for Facebook group Mermaiding NZ said the suits were not designed for “competent deep-water swimmers”.

“Lycra mermaid tails are a magical way to have fun in the water,” she said. “For a four-year-old who wants to use it in a backyard 10ft paddling pool that’s waist deep, it’s probably not [safe]. I don’t sell them any more, and in fact sold less than 20 at the end of 2014. I wasn’t prepared to take the risk of them being used by non-competent swimmers.”

Concern has grown after a mother posted a video on Facebook showing how she had to rescue her daughter from a pool after the child got into difficulties wearing a mermaid suit.

Auckland Council’s McGee said most pools in Auckland had only seen “one or two mermaids” so far, but given overseas experiences they were taking preventative action.”

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The focus on isolated swimmers put other pool users at risk. We are asking parents to keep the mermaid tails for home pools where they can have the direct one-on-one level of parental supervision.”

Mermaiding NZ said Auckland Council should embrace the “worldwide craze” and set up seasons when mermaids could have access to public pools, or classes for small groups of mermaids.

Facebook user Amanda Jull posted on the Mermaiding NZ page that she was “frustrated” by Auckland council’s decision to ban the suits, which capitalised on the popularity of the Disney film Little Mermaid.

“We only have a small-framed pool, which isn’t big enough for my nine-year-old very competent mermaid. The bigger pools are the only place she can swim freely, now it’s banned...This make me sad.”