"Don't believe it can't happen to you."
That's the message from the mother of a 15-month-old boy who drowned in a partially drained pool after the gate was left propped open.
A Queensland inquest has heard young Tyson had wandered off as four family members changed a car tyre on March 20 this year.
He then slipped into the pool area of the Regency Downs property and likely struck his head on a step, before blacking out and drowning in just 310mm of water.
The gate to the pool had been propped open by a piece of timber as untreated water had been pumped out, the inquest heard on Wednesday.
In her submissions, Counsel Assisting Megan Jarvis quoted his mother's warning to other pool owners to never prop open their gates.
"Always make sure your pool gate is closed," she read.
"Never prop it open - tragedies happen in a second."
The inquest heard the boy's uncle was now racked with guilt and the family was suffering from the "immense" loss of the young child.
"(This) has had huge ramifications on this family," Detective Sergeant Bronagh Gillespie said.
A subsequent inspection of the pool found it had a defective self-locking mechanism and a dilapidated resuscitation sign, Lockyer Valley Regional Council building certifier Garry Shum said.
Despite these shortcomings, Ms Jarvis noted the act of propping open the gate was enough to pose a serious risk.
Pool safety advocate Kat Plint said the council must be retrained in pool compliance and harsher penalties placed on those who don't maintain the standards to ensure a deterrent effect.
Mrs Plint, who established Hannah's Foundation in honour of her daughter who drowned in a backyard pool in 2007, also said a public education campaign to highlight the dangers of propping open gates was urgently needed.
Deputy State Coroner John Lock will deliver his findings on Tyson's death on Friday morning.
Share
