Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...
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Your support makes all the difference.Seven years after she died and six weeks after its official opening by the Queen, the memorial in London to Diana, Princess of Wales, was again opened to the public.
Seven years after she died and six weeks after its official opening by the Queen, the memorial in London to Diana, Princess of Wales, was again opened to the public.
Safety has been improved at the £3.6m fountain in Hyde Park, designed by the American architect Kathryn Gustafson, after a series of accidents last month in which visitors slipped and injured themselves. Warning signs have been placed round the attraction banning people from walking in its cascades, a rule to be policed by park stewards at a cost of £100,000 a year.
Within days of its opening on 6 July, the oval fountain, around which water flows in two directions, collecting in a dish-shaped pool, was presenting problems. A day after opening, leaves clogged drainage filters and caused the stepped waterfall to flood. Last month a child sustained head injuries and two adults were hurt when they slipped on granite steps. Health and safety experts were called in and the water was switched off again on 22 July. This month the water was switched back on but visitors were kept back by fencing.
People strolling by the Serpentine yesterday were pleased the attraction was open again. "I hope there are no more problems now because we want to keep it running full-time and we don't want it fenced off," said John Loughrey, from Wandsworth, south London. "Diana wouldn't have wanted that."
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