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I AM writing with regard to the article (JEP, 10 August) in which Mr Baudains sustained an injury in Havre des Pas pool from broken glass.
I sympathise with Mr Baudains in his injury. However, I totally disagree with his criticism of the lifeguard services and the Education, Sport and Culture department.
As a daily swimmer in the area, I was astonished to hear that Mr Baudains had said that the aforementioned services were too lax in their duties to clean up the glass, which posed a threat not just to himself but to children.
The danger of glass is true of any other beach in the Island. Havre des Pas, and the rest of Jersey's beaches, are subject to two high tides in a day. Glass bottles are discarded from boats, and, on reaching the shore, they smash against the many rocks in that vicinity. If the pool were to be drained to retrieve glass every day, there wouldn't be a pool to swim in.
This doesn't just apply to Havre des Pas, as every beach on the Island has glass littering the shoreline somewhere. If the same incident had occurred on another beach with less responsibility, it wouldn't have been reported.
Because the States have a responsibility towards the upkeep of the pool, which I may say is a herculean task which is executed very well, Mr Baudains is using the Education, Sport and Culture department as a scapegoat. This is wrong, as it is a universal problem.
The lifeguards are vigilant, and always have been. So instead of blaming these people who so admirably put their lives at risk, the true blame should be put on the irresponsible minority who have no consideration for others.
5 Ednor Villas, Grève d'Azette, St Clement.
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