That’s one way to keep cool
Paddling pools are a staple of British summer time, but one Wythenshawe dad has taken it to the extreme with a massive pool right in his back garden – complete with a waterslide.
40-year-old Liam Tandy has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok for the clips, which show his son flying down the slide and splash land in the pool – right on his back patio in Benchill.
Liam said he has had the pool since 2024 – and only half-jokingly puts the decision down to having ADHD. “That’s just how I am, once I get an idea in my head, I just have to have it,” he told the M.E.N.
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Returning from a summer holiday, Liam found that he didn’t want to leave the poolside fun behind. “I had just moved into a new house and it was my first time having a garden,” he said.
“I thought, I want my own pool at home. I started looking online before the holiday even ended.”
He ‘levelled’ most of his back garden to install the 12ft by 24ft pool, which cost about £1,000, and added a former playground slide which he sourced on eBay.
A mechanic by trade, he also erected a platform over the garage roof, which he attached the slide to. “I don’t see it as unsafe, I’ve made it easy to get up there and put netting around the sides,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to my neighbours and they don’t have an issue with it. As long as my kids are happy, I’m happy.”
The pool has its own filter and Liam uses chlorine to treat the water. “Let’s not talk about costs…” he says of his water bill.
Things ‘went a bit mad’ when another TikTok user posted a video of the pool. “She was staying in an AirBnB round the corner and took a video from her window,” he said. “It had been a bit of a secret until then.
“Now it’s gone viral I am expecting a visit from the council. But it’s a temporary structure and I can have it down in an hour.”
With the arrival of the year’s first proper heatwave and the beginning of May half time, Liam’s kids and their friends are flocking round to swim in the pool. “I kind of live through my children, I have three and I know how fast it goes,” he said.
“They’re only young once and once they’re grown up you don’t get that time back. And the love and support and positivity I have had has been absolutely amazing.
“It is nice to get credit as a dad cause I don’t think we get credit or appreciated very often. I go above and beyond for my kids.”
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