Aveton Gifford residents may have enjoyed their last dip in the community pool after it emerged that funds are running out to keep the installation afloat.

The pool closed for the season in September, but there are grave concerns it may never open again unless the parish council can find a new maintenance manager to take over the day-to-day running of the installation.

The previous pool manager, who worked on a voluntary basis, retired at the end of the summer after nine years of loyal service. And thanks to financial help from the local school as well as annual membership fees and donations, the Parish Council has been able to run the facility for almost a decade.

But the council has said it will have to close the pool for good by the end of this year if it cannot find a suitable candidate, warning that spiralling costs were also a factor.

Ros Brousson, chair of the parish council, said flyers were being sent to residents giving details of the job vacancy.

“We need to do find someone ASAP. If we don't get somebody, the pool will shut,” she said, adding that a final decision will be made at the next parish council meeting in January at the latest.

She also revealed that because of the pool’s age (it was inaugurated in 1993) the council would also have to spend upwards of £5,000 in repair costs.

“We thank God we haven't had to have a new pool liner for a while, but a new pool liner is going to be £15,000. And then, of course, you've got all the heating costs, so none of that's a cheap option.

“Until we've got the manager, we are in the unenviable position of not really being able to plan. It actually is a real worry, because we've got this fabulous community asset.”

Resident Kate Kreke, whose two young children learnt to swim in the pool, said: “We’ve used it probably for about 10 years now, ever since my children were little, and four or five days a week at least during the summer months.

“I'm quite worried, because it's just such an amazing resource to have in the village. It's so nice to have that refuge where you can take the kids down to the water and not be overrun with tourists. “It's so important that they learn how to swim and be able to do that in a safe environment.”

Asked if she was concerned that the cuts in council services would impact in her area, she said: “As someone who's struggling to find a dentist - things we took for granted 10 years ago - it's just another thing that is going to be subsumed into this terrible austerity that's taking over.”

Aveton Gifford is just one of many councils across the country struggling to keep their pools open due to mounting energy costs.

A 2023 report by the Community Leisure UK (CLUK) association found that half of the country’s community pools are facing closure or cuts.