As London faces as a heatwave at the start of the school holidays, one of Merton’s most popular paddling pools has closed after a child pooed in the pool.

Although the code-brown incident was reported by the public at the start of last week, the hot weather caused Merton Council’s telephone and IT systems to crash, meaning that the message was not received until Friday morning.

The Wimbledon Park pool, known as the Elisabeth Pool, could be closed for as long as two weeks while it is decontaminated.

A spokeswoman for Merton Council said “immediate action” was taken on Friday, July 22, and said: “We received reports of a child playing in the Wimbledon Park splash pool area without a nappy on, who then pooed in the pool.

“As a precaution, we have temporarily closed the pool so it can be thoroughly cleaned and decontaminated, which could take up to two weeks.”

The Elisabeth Pool, located at the Home Park Road entrance of Wimbledon Park, is one of only two interactive water play areas in the borough.

The other interactive water play area, in Tamworth Recreation Ground, Mitcham, has been open since July 20, along with six other paddling pools around Merton.

For more information about Merton’s paddling pools, click here