WITH British swimmers celebrating their most successful Olympics in decades, Worcester’s MP now wants swimming to be free for young and old in the city.

Labour MP Mike Foster has this week written to Worcester City Council chief executive David Wareing to “remind” him the deadline for local authorities to sign up to the Government’s free swimming programme is approaching.

The Government announced the £140 million initiative earlier this summer, giving local authorities until mid-September to decide whether to drop charges at local swimming pools for over-60s and under-16s, and so secure tens of thousands of pounds of funding.

Mr Foster said: “There has never been a better time for the city council to scrap swimming charges for over-60s and under-16s.

"There are at least two cheques waiting in Whitehall for the council if it agrees to do it.

"So my challenge to them is to show some ambition and go for it.”

"Following our fantastic performance at the Olympics, why not encourage would-be Olympians by offering free swimming for all under-16s in Worcester?”

The Government’s announcement on free swimming was initially met with some cynicism by the city council amid fears it would not be properly funded.

However, the funding details have since been announced and were recently described as being “fair to town halls” by the Local Government Association, which represents councils across the country.

Concerns remain, however, that funding has only been confirmed for the first two years.

Wynne Davies, the city council’s assistant head of safer and stronger communities, said no decision has yet been made on whether Worcester will get involved.

“As a principle you cannot help but support this initiative,” he said. “But quite often the devil is in the detail.

“We are going through the process of looking at the detail to see precisely how it would work and what the cost implications for the council might be.

"A final decision will be made closer to the deadline.”

Wychavon and Malvern Hills Districts Councils both said they are also assessing how much the scheme might cost before deciding whether or not to sign up. Councils which agree to both the over-60s and under-16s schemes can then apply for further Government funding to make improvements to their local swimming pools.