An evening Press phone poll for our Save Our Swim campaign has shown an overwhelming response in favour of saving York's threatened pools.

York City Baths Club chief coach Paddy Garrett, centre, with swimmers Robin Francis and Caroline Stone, who are backing the campaign

No fewer than 765 of those who responded to our question "Should our pools stay open?" said yes, as opposed to just 17 who said no.

Meanwhile the chief coach of York City Baths Club, Paddy Garrett, was furious about the prospect of Yearsley and Barbican Pools shutting.

He said: "It's just absolutely outrageous that they would ever even contemplate closing swimming pools in this day and age.

"Closing Yearsley or the Barbican or both would be an absolute tragedy for the city, for people from complete non-swimmers to pregnant mothers, mothers and babies, schools programmes, the disabled, those swimming for general fitness or other sports-related training, right up to competitive swimmers, and the elderly people who swim to keep their limbs supple.

"If they are going to wipe all that out overnight I hope they will hold up their hands when the first child dies in the city through drowning and say we are guilty, we closed the pools.

"What's the point of spending thousands on a child's education when they can drown in a couple of seconds?"

York Olympic swimmer Caroline Foot said: "I just think it's crazy, and even more crazy that we haven't been informed about it."

We have also had a strong response to our campaign from people writing, phoning, or emailing expressing their dismay at the closure prospect.

The messages included one from health professional Chris Acton worried about the time and money wasted because people don't exercise enough. "The evidence is very clear that taking away such a facility would not only lose us a great leisure activity, but cost us all a lot more in greater ill-health in the future," he said.

Francoise Vassie and Anne Hutchinson both raised the question of encouraging children to learn to swim to avoid tragic accidents, for example in the River Ouse.

Scores of other people who use the two pools on a regular basis, many for health benefits and to stay fit generally, have spoken out against the proposals.

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