A CHARD headteacher has also hit out at the plans to close Chard’s swimming pool, leaving the town without a facility for at least two years.

Luke Talmage, headteacher of Manor Court Community Primary School, said: “Closing Chard’s only public swimming pool, without an easily accessible alternative locally, will cause difficulties in teaching the children in all of the schools in Chard to swim.

“Swimming is an important part of the PE curriculum and the Government expects schools to report on the number of children who can swim proficiently at the end of Primary education.

“As importantly, the ability to swim is a lifelong skill that we all deserve and need and closing Cresta will hinder Chard’s ability to impart this skill or even train the next Matthew Clay, who won the commonwealth Gold medal in 2006.

“A wider consultation about the effects of the closure of the pool is required.”

A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: "We appreciate this may be difficult, but there are numerous towns of Chard’s size and larger which do not have their own swimming pools and schools make alternative arrangements.

"While in the past we have been able to step in and help, the County Council does not have an obligation to provide swimming facilities and there are big pressures on all the Council’s budgets.

"There are plans for a pool as part of the leisure facilities in SSDC’s Chard regeneration plans."