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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Adam Laver

Couple's act of kindness after moving to rural area with no local public swimming pool

A couple who struggled with a lack of local facilities when they moved to a rural community, have transformed their home into a public swimming pool.

Bhavika and Mark Kane struggled with the inaccessibility of rural life when they moved to the county from Kelham, Nottinghamshire, in November 2021.

"I'm Nottingham born and bred, where everything is on your doorstep," Mrs Kane, 43, explained.

"So when we moved to Lincolnshire, which is quite rural, I struggled because not everything was accessible."

The Kane's home in Bucknall, Woodhall Spa, is surrounded by beautiful farmland and picturesque scenery.

However, for keen swimmers, driving to the nearest pool isn't always convenient.

The pool at Swim Blue (Swim Blue)

To get around that problem, they built their own pool and were soon contacted by others wanting to take advantage of it. "We were approached by a swim school," Mrs Kane told Lincolnshire Live.

"We were quite excited. My little boy could learn to swim on our door step and I knew a lot children from his school would like it too."

The couple took the school up on their offer and now their company Swim Blue provides swimming lessons through external providers, as well as a wide variety of other activities.

Mrs Kane said: "We have everyone here, from babies to 80-year-olds.

The pool is heated to 31-32 degrees Celsius (Swim Blue)

"It's been going really well." The pool is 13m by 4m, with a 1.2 metre depth all the way through and is heated to 31-32 degrees Celsius.

They also offer pool parties and private hire.

"We manage it all," Mrs Kane added.

Mrs Kane says the company is doing really well (Swim Blue)

"Hopefully we will be able to recruit as well to help us out." Mr Kane, 47, said: "It has been exciting and hectic.

"A lot of people are coming round. We want to keep growing and getting more people visiting us.

"We want to grow the business and make it more accessible for more people."

People can book to swim at Swim Blue by visiting their website.

The family also hosts pool parties and other events (Swim Blue)

Lincoln's only swimming pool, Yarborough Leisure Centre, reopened in January after being closed for 12 months.

However, one new customer of Swim Blue emailed the Kanes saying the temperature, cleanliness and business of the pool has put them off.

Swim England warned more than 100 pools are under threat of closure or a reduction in services in the six months following November 2022 to the sector’s growing energy crisis.

Lincolnshire councils took action by lowering swimming pool temperatures to cope with rising costs.

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