CORONER Claire Balysz has called on the government to introduce laws forcing families to surround pools with child-resistant barriers after three-year-old Jack Rowe drowned at his home in Upavon.

The toddler, of Grey Flags on Pewsey Road, Upavon, died on his third birthday and his family is backing the coroners decision to write to Edward Timpson, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Children and Families, in a bid to force through new legislation.

Nigel Rowe, 52, a chartered surveyor, said:“We are putting up a fence now, we had it planned before hand, we just weren’t forced to do it and that's a guilt we'll always have to live with.

“He was so safe around water but I feel now that we should be responsibly involved in promoting fencing around water."

Olivia Rowe, 39, described her son as outgoing, confident, very active and kind.

She is now working spread the word around the UK about a survival technique called Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) which teaches children from six months to six years what to do if they fall into water.

She said: “As soon as we lost Jack I thought ‘right, that’s it, I’m bringing that here’ and I’ve been slowly doing that.”

A charity has been set up in the three-year-olds memory called The Jack Rabbit Foundation, a nickname given to the toddler by his sister, Ella.

Money raised through the charity will be used to bring ISR to the country and to fund children to be put onto the course.

Mr Rowe said: “Jack is gone and we loved him and we do continue to love him but we still count ourselves as very lucky to have had him and because he was so wonderful for three years and we are lucky to have our other children.”

Jack died at 2.10am on Thursday July, 10 – having been found at the bottom of the family swimming pool at around 7pm the previous evening.

At an inquest in Salisbury yesterday, the coroners court heard that Mrs Rowe had taken her daughter and a friend to a disco at St Francis School in Pewsey at the time of the incident.

Jack was being looked after by his half brother, Harry, 20, and at around 6pm the pair were in the breakfast room of the family home.

Jack was watching a Peppa Pig DVD when Harry went to the toilet and was gone for around four minutes but when he returned he could not see Jack. He spent 15 minutes looking for him before calling Mrs Rowe.

Mrs Rowe returned home just before 7pm and searched the house and outbuildings and called the police before heading into Upavon because Jack had tried to run off into the village by himself some months before.

Jack was discovered by Caroline Dale who knew the family because her daughter also goes to St Francis School and had joined the search party.

She then saw a figure at the bottom of the pool and jumped into the water to get him out and when she returned to the surface Harry was at the side of the pool.

Harry helped to lift Jack out of the pool and started CPR on him with the help of a family friend.

Jack, who also has a 22-year-old brother, Laurence, was airlifted to Southampton Hospital but died of multiple organ failure bronchial pneumonia following a cardiac arrest and being emerged in water.

Wiltshire and Swindon assistant coroner Ms Balysz ruled a verdict of accidental death.