A RESCUE plan has been put in place to save a Cumbrian village swimming pool.

There were fears that Askham swimming pool, near Penrith, might have to stay closed this year due to a lack of funds.

But after a meeting on Tuesday night, six concerned residents stepped forward to help.

Joe Cann, parish councillor and retired academic, said: “The plan sets out to recover from last year’s large deficit of £10,000 and to operate this year while breaking even.

“It will involve cost savings and a major fundraising exercise, while also setting out to build up a reserve fund as a protection against future summers as bad as that of 2015.

“The plan also recognises that the pool had been working with too few volunteers over the last few years to cover the full complexity of running the pool.”

More efforts will also go into the fundraising and marketing of the pool.

Pool operations would be divided into 10 sections, each one supervised by a group of two or three volunteers, spreading the responsibility throughout the community.

Mr Cann said: “In anticipation of the meeting, a good group of volunteers had already been identified, while donations to the reserve fund already exceeded £4,000.

“The crowded audience included keen swimmers and parents of swimmers – not only from Askham but also from much further afield.

“At the end of the meeting the plan was put to the committee of the community centre and was accepted, to considerable jubilation from the crowded hall.

“Eden councillor Mike Slee, chair of the committee, emphasised that the pool must be run as a completely separate operation, within the charity, from that of the village hall.”

The pool will open from the end of May until early September. Anyone wanting to donate should contact Gary Calland at garycalland@gmail.com or joe.cann@gmx.co.uk