Parents are facing a summer holiday nightmare as swimming pools start to close their doors because of a shortage of chlorine.
The government is being urged to step in and save the UK’s swimming pools as they battle the worldwide shortage on top of rising energy bills.
Pools in Staffordshire, Essex and Brighton have already closed or seen timetables reduced, leaving swimmers high and dry.
But it is feared many more will follow as desperate pool bosses beg for stocks from different venues - in a fight to keep their doors open.
A recent report claimed nine in ten pools face closure, with the nationwide bill for heating the water expected to rise from £500m in 2019 to more than £1.2billion this year.
On top of that chlorine prices have surged by up to 60% because of a global shortage.
Chlorine suppliers have blamed the shortage on a fall in production in China, a fire at a US chemical plant, worldwide transportation issues and Brexit.
Now Olympic swimming champion Duncan Goodhew says the government should take action to keep pools open.
He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The health and wellbeing benefits of swimming stand way above other physical activity.
“In terms of it’s benefit and costs to society, in health terms, is massive.”
Goodhew, 67, who won Gold and Bronze medals at the 1980 Olympics, added: “We know that our obesity crisis is reaching or in some cases has outstripped the USA.”
Talking about the pressures swimming pools are under, he added: “It is something that the government can not and should not stay silent on much longer.”
“There are surprisingly very few production facilities of chlorine, particularly as it makes our water safe and is used extensively in the food industry,” he explained.
“Large operators are moving chlorine around the country to make sure pools stay open but the smaller operators are slightly more challenged. They have less stocks and it’s more difficult for them to find it.”
On Sunday, Tamworth’s SnowDome in Staffordshire closed their 25-metre pool, junior pool and toddler pool.
The leisure attraction said the closure was due to a national shortage of chlorine and it did not know when swimmers would be allowed back in.
The SnowDome said: “There is a national chlorine shortage. We are doing our best to get the pool open.” The rest of the complex remains open to visitors as usual.
Saunders Park paddling pool in Lewes Road, Brighton, has also been temporarily closed.
A council spokesperson said: “As the chlorine shortage continues, we need to prioritise and divert all of our remaining supplies to the city’s three main swimming pools....”
The shortage also prompted Colchester BC to close its central leisure facility’s fitness and teaching pools on certain dates from last Saturday onwards.
To help manage chlorine supplies, Colchester Leisure World is asking people to ensure they shower beforehand and remove footwear in changing rooms or poolside.
Cllr Adam Fox, Deputy Leader of Colchester Borough Council, said: “Due to the national chlorine shortage, we have put in place some proactive measures to ensure people can continue to access our swimming facilities and sessions.
“We know that many other swimming pools across the country are having to close, and by acting now we can prolong our chlorine supplies and continue to offer sessions and classes for all demographics across our wide range of swimming facilities.
“We are monitoring our supplies closely and are in contact with our chemical suppliers to ensure we are in the best place possible to keep services operating.
“If we experience further delays to deliveries, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure we keep all services operational, although this may involve further changes to timetables across our offering.”
