Castleton Swimming Pool forced to close after deadly bacteria found in water

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Castleton Swimming Pool

Castleton Swimming Pool has been forced to close its doors after potentially deadly Legionella was found in the water.

The pool, which runs various swimming classes for children’s group Aqua Bears, was found to have the bacteria last week.

Legionella is the bacteria which causes Legionnaires’ disease – a serious lung infection which can sometimes lead to pneumonia and even death.

Swimming Coach Mark Crouch sent an email to all parents to inform them that the pool had to be closed. He said: “Not only is the water potentially very dangerous, we have swimmers in here who are training for the British championships which are coming up in July and August, and they can’t afford to be out of the water.

“We are looking at the middle of next week before the pool can be open again and even that isn’t definite.

"I just hope everyone is going to be ok, at the end of the day we have a duty of care for the children and we want them to be as safe as possible.”

John Walton, whose 10-year-old daughter usually goes to the pool four times a week, said: “Obviously as a parent it is a cause for concern that there’s something like legionella in the water. It should really be open information.

"My daughter is 10 and goes there four times a week so it’s not great news for her. I hope it all gets sorted out soon, we’ve all been told next week.”

A spokesperson for Link4Life said: “Due to an ongoing technical issue at Castleton Swimming Pool, we are temporarily unable to operate the facility. At the moment we cannot give a definitive timeframe on when the technical issues will be resolved and any subsequent remedial actions with recommissioning will be completed. We can confirm that the site will remain closed this week and at the very least until the middle of next week.

"The current situation is challenging for all involved and everything possible is being done to ensure that the various users of Castleton Swimming Pool can continue their activities.

“We are working to accommodate the users of the site at our other pool venues with pool space being offered in the interim. We will continue to work with all the clubs, schools and partners that use Castleton Swimming Pool to ensure that we look after our valued users in the short term.”

Initial symptoms usually include flu-like symptoms, such as:

• Mild headaches
• Muscle pain
• High temperature (fever), usually 38C (100.4F) or above 
• Chills
• Tiredness
• Changes to your mental state, such as confusion

Once bacteria begin to infect your lungs, you may also experience symptoms of pneumonia, such as:

• a persistent cough – which is usually dry at first, but as the infection develops you may start coughing up phlegm or, rarely, blood
• Shortness of breath 
• Chest pains