Target reached to reopen Birtley Swimming Centre

Community group spokesman Matthew Grant said: “We are delighted to have achieved our minimum crowdfunding target of £20,000 and want to give a huge thank you to all our local supporters, who contributed £10,000, which secured a £10,000 contribution from Sport England.”

The community group said as well as offering affordable family swimming sessions, it hoped to run life-saving training, Aquafit and competitive swimming.

Plans for the pool also include replacing its old boilers, refurbishing the water slide and resurfacing the car park.