A SAFETY row over the state of a popular seafront padding pool is set to rumble on as repairs will not be carried out until after next summer.

Concerns have been raised about the safety of the pool at Concord Beach, Canvey, with campaigners claiming children could fall over into the sea because of its slippery concrete base.

Castle Point Council agreed to look into installing a £270,000 pontoon-style walkway, but documents reveal work is unlikely to start before September 2016.

Colin Letchford, chairman of the Friends of Concord Beach, said the proposed safety improvements are not enough.

He added: "The council don’t appear to be doing anything with the bottom of the pool, and that seems to be a big problem with people cutting their feet.

“All of that concrete needs to be lifted as there is sand underneath, and all the concrete has made it really shallow and is causing a problem.”

The base of the pool, which is looked after by Castle Point Borough Council, was renovated in 2007.

Work involved replacing its original sand base with concrete, and cementing rocks around the perimeter wall.

In October 2014 further work took place to cover the bottom of the pool, off Eastern Esplanade, with sand and shingle.

In the minutes of a cabinet meeting in October, the council said: "It might not be possible to complete the risk reduction ahead of the summer 2016 season as progress would be dependent on obtaining all the necessary consents from the various agencies in a timely manner, outcome of the procurement process, securing the necessary funding, and on weather and tidal conditions.”

It is not known whether the paddling pool will remain closed throughout next summer.

Mr Letchford, who previously commissioned his own safety report into the pool, added: “I’ve done what I can but it’s in the hands of the council now. They keep putting more and more signs up saying it’s closed, but they need to put a fence around the area.

“If they reopen it this summer, without the works done, then accidents will happen.

“They need to get it sorted. The pool is in an atrocious state.”