For a century or more, people have been swimming in the ponds on Hampstead Heath. Some, like me, swim occasionally in the summer. Others swim all year round. It is said to be deeply therapeutic to get up at 6, make your way to the ponds, plunge into the icy water in total darkness, and then get to your city desk by 9.

Then came the Health and Safety Inspectorate. Now Health and Safety is only meant to apply to work places, but soon all swimming baths were classified as places of work, and then all ponds were classified as swimming baths. And all need two life guards to be on duty at all times.

There are three ponds on the heath, one (the best) for the ladies, one for the men, and one (summers only) mixed. This means that 4 (in summer 6) life guards need to be on duty for 12 hours or more a day. The cost is said to approach £500,000 a year. And naturally the Corporation of London wants to cut it back.

Now the solution is simple - do away with the guards. Before they came, people had been swimming for a century without a single fatal accident. Even if there were to be an accident, other swimmers would help before the guards could get there.

The United Swimmers Association have proposed that winter swimmers should form a self-regulating association to swim at their own risks without guards - thereby saving a huge amount of money. They are currently suing the Corporation of London for this to be allowed - but the Corporation is resisting this money-saving proposal and calling in lots of highly paid lawyers in order to oppose a proposal that would save them a lot of money.

Michael Foot, who introduced the original legislation, and is a local resident and Heath enthusiast, is said to be horrified at the unintended consequences of his legislation.

Andrew Selkirk is Editor of Current Archaeology.