Children at risk from pool closures – union

YOUNG people are being left at risk of drowning because of the “terrifying” closure of swimming pools over the past decade, a union has warned.

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The GMB said its research showed that since 2010, 500 public swimming pools have closed, with almost half shutting in the last five years.

The GMB said council-owned swimming pools had closed across the UK, including in London, the Midlands, South West, Wales, South East, Yorkshire, Scotland and the North East.

Kevin Brandstatter, GMB national officer, said: “The Conservatives’ grim legacy of austerity has left brutal scars right across society. Local authorities being forced to close so many swimming pools is a particularly terrifying example.