North Tyneside swimming pool reopened by inspirational Pride of Britain nominees

Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom Jul 26, 2020 (Issuewire.com)  - After being forced to close to the public in late March, PaddlePod has reopened its doors and welcomed its first swimmers back to the pool.

First in the state-of-the-art swimming pool, based on Camperdown Industrial Estate near Killingworth, was inspirational Pride of Britain nominees Petra and Emelia-Paige Williams. 

Petra, who was recently gifted her own home by Ant and Dec after appearing on ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway, tragically lost one of her twin daughters, Darcey, when she was just nine-and-a-half weeks old.

As she was grieving the loss of Darcey, Petra’s eldest daughter Emelia-Paige, who was 23 months old at the time, turned to her mummy and said: “Mummy, nobody cares about me, and I miss Darcey too.”

These words prompted Petra to set up Darcey’s Dream, a charity dedicated to supporting children like Emelia-Paige who have experienced the trauma of losing a sibling.

Since 2018, Emelia-Paige, five, has become the face of Darcey’s Dream and has raised thousands of pounds to support children up and down the UK. Leading her own campaign, #10lengthsforDarcey, she regularly swims ten lengths of an Olympic-size swimming pool with various celebrities.

Emelia-Paige was the first person to jump back into the pool at PaddlePod Newcastle after lockdown and was joined by Petra, and former X Factor contestant and local singer-songwriter, Geoff Mull.

Petra commented: “Emelia-Paige has really missed swimming, and was devastated to learn that some of her charity swims had to be postponed during the lockdown. I cannot tell you how happy we both are to be back in the pool and to be back to raising vital funds to support bereaved siblings.

“It’s going to be a busy summer for us, as Emelia-Paige already has two or three swims booked every week of the holidays. We are both incredibly grateful that swimming pools can now reopen, and I’m excited to be bringing our #10lengthsforDarcey sponsored swims to PaddlePod. It’s a fantastic venue, and one that I and Emelia-Paige cannot wait to return to!”

After officially reopening PaddlePod, Emelia-Paige has an exciting timetable of charity swims booked over the summer holidays. These swims will take place in the 25m pool at PaddlePod Newcastle, and the keen swimmer - and her celebrity guests - will enjoy exclusive use of the facility for these events.

PaddlePod launched its first learn to swim venue on the outskirts of Killingworth in December 2019, and will open its second - PaddlePod North Tyneside - in Shiremoor in September. Home to hundreds of swimming lessons for babies and young children every week, PaddlePod is the brainwave of local entrepreneur Phil Groom, founder and director of local swim schools, Nemo Swimming and SwimNE.

The summer holidays will see PaddlePod offer youngsters the chance to jump back into the pool following lockdown, with a full timetable of summer swimming lessons, swim camps, pool parties, and exclusive family swim sessions.

Phil Groom, founder of SwimNE and Nemo Swimming who use the pools at PaddlePod to deliver their lessons commented: “The last few months have been challenging as a small business owner, and also as a parent of a young child. Life has changed drastically for children, and it’s nice to be able to offer them some routine - a sense of normality - and the opportunity to return to a sport that they love and have missed during the lockdown. We have, of course, had to make various changes to the way that we operate ahead of restarting our lessons, and our summer lessons are proving to be incredibly popular.

“It’s been fantastic to see Petra and Emelia-Paige at PaddlePod this morning - and for them to kickstart our summer programme of swimming activities. Swimming already offers so many benefits to youngsters, and it’s great to see Emelia-Paige embrace it in this way - she is an incredible little girl, and I look forward to following her journey in the pool now that swimming can recommence.”

For more information on Darcey’s Dream, or to make a donation, please visit https://www.darceysdream.com/

More information about the summer timetable at PaddlePod Newcastle and summer swimming lessons provided by Nemo Swimming and SwimNE can be found at www.paddlepod.co.uk 

Media Contact

PaddlePod emma@paddlepod.co.uk 0191 250 8222 Silverbirch Drive, Camperdown Industrial Estate http://www.paddlepod.co.uk