DIRTY swimming pools could be a thing of the past, thanks to new research funded in Swindon.

Scientists have created their own mini-pool that stimulates the chemicals and germs that are found in public baths.

They hope that the data they collect can be passed to mathematicians who can then develop models to predict the production of unwanted by-products that lead to unhealthy conditions.

The research may lead to leisure centres limiting the number of people using pools in order to reduce the risk of infection passing from the water.

It may also lead to new rules being brought in about washing before entering the pool or using certain levels of detergent.

Tens of thousands of pounds have been granted by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, one of a number of Government offices based near Swindon train station in North Star.

It will be used by Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, where scientists have created the mini pool, and mathematicians based at Bristol University.

Dr Simon Judd, of Cranfield's School of Water Sciences, said: "Ultimately the idea would be to develop an accurate model to represent the chemical processes that are happening in the pool."

Swindon's Oasis Leisure Centre was praised in June by Which? Magazine, which described its pool as one of the cleanest in the country.

Clive Wall, buildings services manager at the Oasis, has just taken delivery of a new processing and purification system.

He said: "The water system is monitored 24 hours a day, using a bank of instruments, and we get immediate feedback if anything is out of the ordinary. I think the bad pools are ones which are badly managed and where no notice is taken of the readings."