SWIMMERS were changed and waiting by a York poolside when staff told them: Sorry, you can't go in.

The Edmund Wilson Baths were closed down earlier this week because there were not enough lifeguards.

Managers said today that health and safety had to be their first priority, and they had no alternative but to shut the pool on Monday evening after sickness and other problems left them with an unusual shortage of guards. Extra lifeguards were now being recruited.

But one annoyed swimmer criticised staff for allowing swimmers to get changed and hang around the poolside before deciding to send them home and give everyone a refund.

"It was ridiculous," said Robert Brookes, of Woodthorpe. "I don't know why they didn't have enough staff, but if that was the case, they should have simply closed the pool at 5.15pm when the session was due to start."

The closure was just the latest in a series of problems which have dogged York's municipal swimming pools. The Barbican Pool closed last summer as part of a redevelopment scheme. Plans to build a replacement pool have been delayed after campaigners applied for judicial review of City of York Council's decision to grant planning permission for the Barbican redevelopment.

The Yearsley Baths shut for a month last autumn because of problems with the heating system and roof, and closed for another week last month for further repairs to the roof. Edmund Wilson also shut briefly last autumn when the lighting system failed.

Ian McCoulough, of City of York Council, said the Edmund Wilson pool had closed from 5.15pm until 6.30pm on Monday, and then for the evening from 7.30pm, affecting disabled and adult-only classes. "The pool is now open as normal," he said.

Updated: 08:45 Thursday, March 17, 2005