MORNING swimming sessions have been cancelled at Basildon Sporting Village, and swimmers are concerned they may never be brought back.

Bosses say that the 6-7am Saturday sessions have been suspended due to a lack of lifeguards.

But those who use the pool say there was no notice of the change despite the popularity of the slot which frequently has up to 80 swimmers at a time.

Swimmer Maddy Raymond, who has used that session for many years, said: “It is a very popular session and I have swum at the pool for many years and have developed a fantastic group of friends from going to the early session.

“Most of the people that use the slot take swimming seriously, it is an integral part of the week.

“My annoyance with this decision is without warning the slots were cancelled and of course sometimes when something is gone, there is then the worry it might not come back.”

The 6-7am session offers lane swimming where adults can use the pool without sharing it with children or families.

Mark Ferries, 52, from Pitsea, another swimmer during the slot, added: “I look forward to these sessions as they kickstart my weekend.

“During this session too, the pool is divided into lanes which means you can swim properly without potentially swimming into children.”

Andrew Bell, a third swimming, added how “there were up to 80 swimmers during this session, so it is very frustrating”.

The centre and activities are run by Everyone Active, who said the move will be reviewed towards the end of the month.

Area contract manager Shaun Beagle said: “Unfortunately, due to recent lifeguard shortages, we have had to temporarily suspend our 6-7am Saturday swimming sessions.

“This is a temporary measure throughout March and will be reviewed towards the end of the month. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will notify our members as soon as the session is back up and running.

“In the meantime, we are pleased to say that we will be running NPLQ lifeguard courses in order to improve our resource.

“Please rest assured that we are working hard to resolve our recent recruitment issues and we are committed to improving the pool programme and availability.”