Dropping in for a swim

An unlikely first for Dunedin was achieved yesterday morning when a helicopter was used to install an 8m by 4m swimming pool at a Portobello Rd property, Southern Spas and Pools director Stuart Laing, of Christchurch, said.

"It went fantastically well. We were hoping for a bit of wind actually, because it helps cancel out the down-draft from the helicopter's rotors... delivering it by road certainly was not an option because it's almost inaccessible,'' he said.

Mr Laing said the company had sold "more pools [in Dunedin] this year than... in the last 17 years put together''.

He attributed these sales figures to extended periods of fine weather and high consumer spending.

The company had previously used a helicopter to install a pool at a Queenstown property.

Mr Laing said helicopter hire was "only a small part'' of the project's cost, which he estimated to be about $30,000.