POLICE are trying to discover why a woman was left fighting for her life after attempting to swim in a waist-deep duck pond.
Emergency services were called to Pearson Park in west Hull shortly after 7am on Sunday to find the woman breathing but unresponsive.
A passer-by called police when they first spotted the woman – now known to be in her 30s – swimming in the pond.
Minutes later, police found the woman on the bank after apparently being dragged out of the pond by the passerby.
Last night, a Humberside Police spokeswoman said the woman remains in a "critical but stable" condition in Hull Royal Infirmary as officers seek to establish why she had attempted to swim in the dirty water.
Councillor John Fareham, chairman of the Pearson Park Trust, said he was surprised to hear reports that the woman was swimming in the pond, because the water, in most parts, barely covers a pair of wellies.
He said: "The mystery of it all is why would someone want to swim in a pond that is, at most, waist-deep. I've been in there when it's been cleaned out.
"You have to wear waders when you go in. In the centre of the pond, the water just goes over a pair of wellies.
"I could understand someone wanting to cool off and go for a swim perhaps in East Park lake, but it wouldn't be much of a swim in Pearson Park pond. It's not the Serpentine.
"And the other question is, why would they choose to do it at that time of day?"
Cllr Fareham praised the actions of the quick-thinking passerby.
He said: "It could have been much worse. All hail that passer-by.
"Fortunately, the park is usually occupied.
"That person had the common sense to advice the woman to get out and then took appropriate action when she collapsed.
"She should be very grateful."
A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "We were notified shortly after 7.10am of a woman swimming in the pond in Pearson Park.
"The caller was concerned for the safety of the woman due to the condition of the water and the length of time she had been in the pond.
"Local neighbourhood police officers were quickly on the scene and on arrival found the woman at the side of the pond, having been recovered from the water by a member of the public.
"The woman, although breathing, was not responding to the voices of attending officers and an ambulance was immediately called to the scene.
"The woman was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary where she currently remains in a critical but stable condition.
"Enquiries are under way to establish the circumstances leading to the woman entering the water."
Several people have drowned across the country this summer after entering lakes, rivers and reservoirs to cool down.
But a spokesman for Humber Rescue, which is based on Hessle Foreshore and covers the rivers around Hull, said: "No matter how hot the weather, people must be aware that all waters can be dangerous and will take lives without warning."
Anyone who has information about the incident is should call police on the non-emergency 101, quoting log number 183 of August 11.
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