A CAMPAIGN to save Guisborough swimming pool is to be launched.

The pool has been earmarked for closure under budget cuts proposed by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. The proposal has yet to be agreed by councillors.

Dr Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, will launch a Hands off our Swimming Pool campaign at 10.30am today at a rally outside the pool, in Howlbeck Road. A petition will be started.

The council says the swimming pool building, which it owns, is in a bad condition. But Dr Kumar believes there is strong support for the pool among the 17,485 people of Guisborough.

"The pool is well patronised and there are many local groups who use it day in, day out," he said. "These include sporting clubs, social groups and local schools.

"The news that the pool could now, out of the blue, be threatened with closure, will utterly inflame local opinion.

"I and other pool users have been fighting for a long time to get funds to make the pool fit and proper for the new century.

"This week we have arranged a meeting in February with Sports Minister Richard Caborn to look at funding strategies to achieve this.

"We will not let the council get away with this short-sighted decision."

The council's deputy chairman, Dave Fitzpatrick, said: "The pool is in a disgraceful condition.

"The filters need changing, as they may fail soon, which would mean the pool would be closed for months for repair. It would need £500,000 to bring it up to standard.

"We have been told by independent consultants and Sport England that we have too many pools in the borough and that it would be better to centralise, by having one main pool.

"The decision will not be based on the saving of around £120,000 running costs. It will be based on health and safety issues and common sense."