DISAPPOINTED divers in Trowbridge have had their lessons cancelled after faults were discovered on the steps leading up to the diving boards at Trowbridge Sports Centre.

The pool's one-metre, three-metre and five-metre boards have all been closed, ending public diving sessions, lessons and diving club sessions while repairs are carried out.

Hundreds of divers have been hit, and the diving club has had to cancel a sponsored dive event. Young divers will not resume their lessons until next month, after pool management decided it was better to cancel the current course of lessons completely, and re-start sessions when the next 10-week course is due to begin in June.

"The treads on the steps to the two top boards need replacing and there are problems with the one-metre board," explained sports centre general manager Martin Symcox.

"The problem was picked up on a regular survey. The closure is for safety and quality reasons. One section of the repairs will happen this week, and we hope that will put the three and five-metre boards back in operation. Repairs to the one-metre board are more complex. Unfortunately it is affecting quite a lot of people but we are making sure the repairs are being done as soon as possible."

Diving at the pool is possible because of its innovative moving floor, which can be lowered to a depth of four metres to allow diving. It is the only pool in the area with this facility, and attracts divers from a wide area.

One mother said: "The diving boards are a great thing to have at the pool, the children get loads of fun out of them and they also enjoy being able to go on and learn diving once they have learned to swim well."