A survey conducted in Swaffham has shown a clear demand for a new swimming pool facility in the town.

The survey of 1,057 people, organised by the Swaffham Swimming Pool Group, shows almost 97pc of those who completed it stating they would swim more often if there was a pool within Swaffham, as well as many comments praising the idea.

Sport England gave a basis for the questions used in the survey, which also revealed that 60pc would join a gym if it was offered as part of the facility and 41pc would make use of a soft play area.

The survey will now be used to lobby Breckland Council for a new facility.

A Breckland Council spokesperson said: 'Breckland Council and Sport England recently met with the Swaffham Swimming Pool Association to discuss the challenges and need for strong evidence to support their proposal.

'Since the meeting we have received survey results from the group and look forward to discussing this with them at the end of the month.'

The survey shows that 34pc of people who said they would swim more often would visit the pool once every week, with almost 25pc saying they would use it twice a week and nearly 28pc confirming they would go more than twice a week.

Of the 1,053 people who answered the question, the majority said they would be happy to pay around £3 to £5 for an adult swim and £2 to £3.50 for a child's swim.

Almost 37pc of those who said they would join a new gym also said they would use it twice a week.

Comments submitted in support of the proposal for a new facility included 'Swaffham needs a pool to keep it an appealing place to live' and 'I think a facility like this would thrive in Swaffham and would pay for itself due to the usage it would get'.

One resident also said 'a swimming pool would be a great addition to the town and community' with another stating that 'swimming pools are too far away to go to at the moment, we need one in Swaffham'.