Tough new rules for Diana Fountain

The Diana memorial fountain will reopen to the public next week - but it is to be fenced off and visitors will only be allowed to sit and paddle, not walk in it.

The two cascades will be turned on tomorrow for the first time since 22 July and the public will be allowed back in on 20 August.

The £3.6 million "moat-withoutacastle" was closed when three visitors including a child were taken to hospital after slipping on its wet granite.

Six park staff will ensure visitors stick to rigid new rules, agreed with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which will be prominently signposted at the Hyde Park site.

Gates will control numbers entering. Visitors will be told not to walk in the water. Dogs, ball games and glassware will be banned, and parents will be asked to supervise children.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell still insists the monument's problems are the fault of the thousands of visitors who flocked to see it, rather than any intrinsic flaws in the design by American Kathryn Gustafson.

Ms Jowell, who was responsible for choosing the Gustafson design, today praised it once more. She said: "The Diana Memorial Fountain is as unique as it is beautiful. It has attracted thousands of visitors from around the globe, and while I am delighted with this extraordinary popularity, I also believe that it is at the root of the memorial's teething problems."

The royal parks' Greg McErlean said: "The key issue we faced was the sheer number of visitors. We called in designers, engineers and health and safety experts, and the conclusion was that people would sit on the side and dabble their hands and feet but not walk, or in some cases run around in it."

The royal parks also said the cascades had passed EU bathing water directive standards.