Teen ‘mermaid’ banned from wearing tail in public swimming pool

Sept. 27 (UPI) — A woman in England was banned from wearing her mermaid tail at a local pool after it was deemed a safety risk.

Leia Trigger, who goes by the name Mermaid Aries, wore the 150 pound ($200 USD) tail to the public pool in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire until staff ordered her to stop citing health and safety reasons.

“It’s mainly the health and safety risk, because the legs are bound together and they worried that I might get into trouble in the water or that I might end up hitting somebody,” she said.

Trigger, 18, owns two mermaid tails made of spandex-type material and has dreams of working in children’s entertainment.

“It’s about a sense of being able to just dive in, and it I can explore as a mythical, amazing, graceful creature – and you can see everyone smiling around you,” she said of wearing the tail.

The teen mermaid said she had previously received “very positive reactions” while wearing her tail at the public pool and the ban was a big drawback.

“It’s more of a case of trying to find somewhere else to swim or seeing if there’s another path I can take with this,” Trigger said.