A final plea to protect a 'life-saving' recreation centre from the threat of closure has been made by residents.
Around 100 people of all ages and backgrounds came together on Thursday night to show councillors just how much 'the rec' in Bo'ness means to them.
The appeal came ahead of next Wednesday's meeting of Falkirk Council - when the centre will be just one of 133 properties facing closure or transfer out of council ownership.
READ MORE: Falkirk school swimming pool set to close later this year as council look to cut costs
Rugby players, divers, swimmers, gym users and many more brought banners and placards to send a message to the council that a town the size of Bo'ness needs a facility that makes health and fitness accessible for the entire community.
One regular at the gym says the centre literally saved his life.
Scott Russell, a former joiner with Falkirk Council, has attended the centre's gym as part of Active Forth's programme for people who have been discharged from hospital for eight years.
After a major cardiac arrest in 2016 - which he was lucky to survive - his cardiologist told him that it was "only my fitness that saved my life".
Another gym regular, Linda Robinson, said that her fitness sessions as a member of Active Forth were key to her recovery from bowel cancer.
Now fully recovered, she continues to come three times a week to stay healthy - and she knows many more people with similar stories to tell.
A report going to councillors on Wednesday reveals that 55 per cent of the health and fitness users have a Falkirk Council Go Card - a concession card aimed at people on low incomes.
The people who use the centre say these are the people who will be worst hit by the closure as many are unable to drive to the next nearest council facility in Grangemouth, while the bus service is unreliable.
One couple say a return trip to Grangemouth by bus would take them two hours.
But many other members of the community will also be affected.
Andy Sneddon, president and coach of Bo'ness Rugby Club, says the centre is absolutely integral to their club.
The club, which has men's, women's and junior teams, leases the pitch from the council and has invested lots of time, money and energy in making improvements.
They fundraised more than £50,000 to install rugby posts and buy containers for equipment.
Falkirk Council says subsidising the recreation centre is costing them more than £800,000 a year and they simply can't afford that.
But there is a feeling a lack of investment over decades has led to low usage numbers. While Camelon's Mariner Centre got a major refurbishment and Grangemouth a new cycling studio, Bo'ness has not even had a new boiler.
Andy said: "There has been no investment in it and they've had no interest in promoting it.
Another club that calls the centre home is Bo'ness Sub Aqua Club, which was set up in 1978.
Their hobby takes the group all over Scotland, seeing the country's breathtaking scenery from a different perspective - under water, where they often come face to face with some amazing creatures, from octopus to otter.
"It's awesome," said vice-chair Alice Brodie. "We feel really privileged to see these beautiful creatures under the water and be part of it."
With a deep end of three metres, the Bo'ness swimming pool is perfect for training. But it is the only one of its kind in the central belt - and without the pool, they will find it very difficult to train new members.
The council's aim is for the facilites it says it can no longer afford to be taken over by the local community wherever possible through a community asset transfer.
The sheer size of Bo'ness Recreation Centre means this is something that even large, well organised groups think would be beyond them.
As well as the swimming pool, gym and rugby pitches there are other sports halls and a cafe - there's even a social club and hairdressers on site.
And while the school facilities are being touted as a possible replacement, centre user Dorothy Ostacchini points out that the school currently uses the rec's games hall regularly.
She said: "The proposals for transfer or mitigations for closure are not realistic or feasible - and they deeply unfair to our communities.
"Falkirk Council wants to create healthy communities! They have a whole level of vulnerable users, therefore they want to close it!"
Those at the protest also say that with hundreds of new homes being built in the Bo'ness area over the next few years, it's not good enough to take away one of the few facilities in the town.
Bo'ness councillors Ann Ritchie and David Aitchison, who also attended, believe the loss of the facility would be a disaster for the town and have called on their fellow members to think twice before they close a building that means so much to so many.
"It's a very much needed and well used facility in the local community," said Councillor Aitchison. "It's a lifeline for older people in particular and given the lack of bus services locally, taking it away is a travesty."
