Mother banned from pool over pram dispute
A mother has been left outraged after she was banned from a swimming pool on the Gold Coast for refusing to leave her baby’s pram outside.
The Gold Coast Bulletin reports Natalie Bardell was told by security guards at Recreation Club 1 that she had to move the stroller because it violated a by-law that banned prams from the pool area.
The young mother said she refused their request because she needed to watch over her 20-week-old baby while her other two children attended swimming lessons.
"Any mother who has a baby in a pram is never going to leave it unattended," she said.
Ms Bardell claims she was yelled at by security guards, who then asked other people to leave the pool area while they evicted her family.
She said her swipe card had been cancelled and she had received a notice banning her from the centre for three months.
"They are slapping us with heavy-handed approaches and we just don't understand what we have done so bad to warrant exclusion to a facility that we thoroughly enjoy using," she told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
"My kids can no longer partake in swimming lessons purely because I want to monitor all my children at once."
A spokesperson for the body corporate defended the club’s decision to ban Ms Bardell and her family.
"On three occasions she’s been asked to remove the pram from the pool area," Ross Hardcastle said
"It’s a serious danger.
"She was asked to put it on the other side of the glass fence. I’m not willing to discuss the matter any further."
