HOTELIERS could be forced by Torbay Council to fill in their pools or spend thousands of pounds rebuilding them to comply with new EU rules.

New legislation mean pools at hotels may have to reduce the gradient, install no-slip surfaces and make them shallower.

About 120 hotels could be affected by the ruling which hoteliers said would hit them hard during the tourist season at a time of a recession.

Hotel bosses described it as 'taking a massive sledgehammer to crack a very small nut'.

Last year, a holidaymaker died in the pool of Torquay's Rainbow Hotel.

Hoteliers are also annoyed Torbay Council is the first local authority in the country to so drastically enforce the new amended EU legislation.

Paul Garwood, owner of the 11-room Cary Court Hotel in Hunsdon Road, said the health and safety department were doing the right thing to improve pool safety. But he claimed Torbay Council were being too heavy-handed.

He added: "Only 12 people drown in pools in this country every year.

"We're always asked to comply with EU rules, but in Germany 26 people drown in pools every year. Why can't they comply with what we're doing?"

Steve Clark, the manager of the 83-room Ashley Court Hotel in Abbey Road and the 55-room Burlington Hotel in Babbacombe Road, said it could cost him £5,000 to have the Ashley's pool re-lined and re-profiled.

He said: "One death is one death too many. It is a sad loss, but everyone is being affected.

"This decision couldn't have come at a worst time. We're in a recession and we're putting our prices down."

Under the EU rule, pools with less than a one-in-10 gradient will have three months to be modified or owners could face unlimited fines and even a prison sentence. Pools will not be able to exceed 1.5 metres in depth and be lined with non-slip material.

Paul Uphill, managing director of the Palace Hotel in Torquay, added: "We are considering the cost implications at this stage and converting the pool. It seems all rules and regulations."

Craig McGill and Ian Krender, owners of the nine-room Marstan Hotel in Meadfoot Sea Road, Torquay, have a one-in-three gradient pool which they insist is hardly used by guests who prefer to sit around it.

Mr Krender said it could cost him £18,000 to re-profile or fill in the pool.

He said: "We don't have that kind of money. Worst still, the council are giving us only three months to comply from the time we receive an official enforcement letter. It will fall in the middle of July. Can't they just wait six months so we can do the work outside the tourist season?"

Hoteliers were warned of the new legislation implications during a Tourism Exhibition and Briefing meeting at the Riviera Centre less than two weeks ago. They said the council's £1,000-a-day barrister had advised the authority the cost to danger ratio was such Torbay Council could enforce the EU rule retrospectively.

As part of the new rule, warning and safety notices such as no running, no diving, no alcohol or no glass, as well as clearer pool depth notices will have to be put up near pools. Hotels will have to provide a life buoy and rescue pole as well as a means of raising the alarm.

Mr Krender added: "We do take health and safety seriously but I suspect this is a knee jerk reaction to the death which happened in the Rainbow Hotel pool last summer. It's crazy and completely disproportionate to the risk."

Gordon Oliver, chairman of the Torbay Hospitality Association, said the legislation had been amended in March.

He insisted health and safety had to prevail, but insisted hotels should not be penalised unnecessarily.

Mr Oliver added: "We hope common sense will prevail in this difficult time so we don't lose a number of pools as hoteliers find it less complicated and less costly to fill them in."

A spokeswoman for Torbay Council said: "We first raised awareness of pool safety last July, when we wrote to swimming pool operators.

"We staged a seminar in October attended by local associations and a similar event held recently was well attended. We are pleased some operators took action last summer, and since then we have continued to work with pool operators to make them aware of their legal obligations.

"There was a pool tragedy in Torbay last year, and it is vital as a council to do everything we can to make pool operators aware of their responsibilities and urge them to take steps to prevent another tragedy.

"While we appreciate the extra pressures during these difficult financial times, we have a responsibility as a council to continue to promote the importance of health and safety issues to protect the public. Where risks in swimming pool design have been identified, the pool operators have a legal responsibility to control these risks in the most appropriate manner.

"We will have to consider the option of taking appropriate action against anyone who fails to meet their obligations to adequately control the risks."