An underwater safety camera system saved the life of a 10-year-old girl after she encountered difficulties while swimming and sank to the bottom of a pool in Bangor, north Wales.

The schoolgirl from Rochdale was on a camping trip when she visited the pool on 24 August.

Jumping into the pool, she fell unconscious and sank 12ft 6ins. Within 40 seconds however, one of four Poseidon underwater cameras spotted her and alerted lifeguards via a pager message.

She was given first aid at the scene and later made a full recovery, although doctors said that, if she had been left much longer, she would have either died or suffered irreversible brain damage.

The £65,000 system – one of eight in the UK – works by using extra-sensitive cameras that monitor underwater sound volume and movement. Poseidon was installed at Bangor to combat lifeguard’s visual problems caused by glare on the water’s surface. Details: www.vision-iq.com