A Wigan mum is searching for a swimming pool so she can continue her son's legacy

Emma Aspinall set up DoIt4Loui after her two-year-old son Loui Aspinall drowned while on holiday in Tunisia in 2013.

She wanted to make sure other tots knew what to do if they got into trouble in water and set up Infant Swim Survival, teaching vital skills.

But in 2023, while on maternity leave after the birth of her daughter, she was told she could no longer use the pool at a gym in Hindley to hold lessons for children.

She tried to find another swimming pool at the time, but to no avail, and is now stepping up her efforts so DoIt4Loui’s life-saving work can resume.

Emma, from Hindley Green, said: “It’s still just as important to me now as it always has been. Just because I haven’t been teaching, doesn’t mean it hasn’t been on my mind all the time.

"I have constantly got parents messaging me, asking if we are going to be getting back up and running. When people found out we no longer had a pool, they were absolutely gutted.”

The DoIt4Loui team have made inquiries about using other pools, but Emma said they were struggling to find somewhere suitable as private pools were not available five days a week and local authority pools did not want to add another programme to those already being taught.

She is hoping her renewed efforts will lead to a suitable pool being secured, though she is also open to finding land where she could set up her own pool.

Infant Swim Survival teaches children how to roll onto their back to rest and breathe if they fall into water, a skill which has been used to save lives.

After Loui’s death, Emma wondered if there were any lessons he could have attended which may have helped him and discovered these skills were being taught in the USA, but not in the UK.

She raised money for specialist training in the USA and returned to teach children what to do, but had no idea how much demand there would be.

She said: “Unbeknown to me, it absolutely took off and it went from strength to strength.

"The more I educated parents in drowning prevention and layers of protection, the more they realised that what we offer in this country is a little bit back to front. We start trying to teach children how to swim before we teach the basics of survival.

"We don’t really have pools in our gardens in this country, but every summer a lot of people go abroad and that’s when accidents happen. We are living proof of that.”

DoIt4Loui are also looking to go into schools to speak to children about water safety and are already in contact with the Quest Trust, which has a number of schools in the area.

To find out more or make contact regarding a pool, go to DoIt4Loui’s website or Facebook page.