Last updated 11:41, Monday, 09 June 2008

EVERYONE could soon be going to the baths for free.

The government has announced plans to give all over-60s in England free access to public swimming pools.

And the scheme could be extended to under-16s and then to the rest of the country by 2012.

Councils are being encouraged to open up almost 1,600 extra publicly-owned swimming pools to the over-60s. That means more than 10 million people will benefit from the plans.

Eddie Edge, director of Cumbria Sports Partnership, believes this is a major decision for the county. He said: “The government announcement is welcome news for Cumbria. The current Active Cumbria campaign is working hard to let people know about sporting opportunities around the county, and this announcement gives it a further boost.”