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Adam Horton, 19, and his
brother Edward, 15, came up with the idea a year
ago but never had the time to dig out the 50
tonnes of earth for the pond.
The coronavirus lockdown changed all that.
"We are building a swimming pool in our back
garden, but it's a swimming pond so it's natural
fresh water and we are going to have plants and
stuff growing around in the shallows here," Adam
Horton told Reuters from inside the hole.
"When lockdown came around we had loads of time
on our hands - it was the perfect opportunity to
get it done," said Horton.
They have dug all day every day for a week for
the pond which will be 4 metres wide, 2 metres
deep at the jumping end and 1.2 metres at the
shallow end. It doesn't have a traditional
mechanical or chemical filter but plants will
keep it clean.
The giant rectangular pond - as yet without
rainwater - now scars the lush green lawn of the
garden near Hook, about 50 miles west of London.
A puzzled Boxer dog named Floyd looks on.
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Why did their parents allow it?
"I'll be honest: I didn't let my children do
it," said their father, Jon Horton, 49. "My wife
did."
"I said 'no' to it because of the work that
would be involved. But they convinced me, they
changed my mind," he said with a smile. "They
have really impressed me."
Edward Horton said it should be ready by the
start of July.
"Last summer it was really hot and I just wanted
a swimming pool and I said to Adam that we
should build one," he said.
"We spoke to Mum and Dad about it and Dad didn't
really want to do it but we managed - he let us
do it in the end."
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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