Many years ago, I had what felt like a brush with death in the middle of an Italian lake.

We had gone on a camping holiday and one particular campsite was on the shores of Lake Bolsena, the largest volcanic lake in Italy.

It seemed like a great idea to hire a canoe from the campsite and for me and my two kids to go for a paddle. In retrospect, it was less of a good idea to only have one lifejacket and that point was hammered home while, right in the middle of this vast lake, we somehow managed to capsize the canoe.

My son, who was aged about five or six at the time, had the lifejacket on. My daughter, who was probably about 11 was (and still is) an accomplished swimmer and was perfectly comfortable in the water.

That just left me – a very poor swimmer desperately clinging on to the upturned canoe. We seemed to be in the water for what seemed like an absolute age as my arms became increasingly tired.

I couldn’t see a way out of it and really thought for a while that my time had come. That was until a German family in a motorboat came to our rescue, hauled me and the family up to safety and took us back to the shore.

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It’s the sort of experience you never forget.

I have, on a number of occasions since, tried to learn to swim but sadly have never quite managed it.

As a result of my experience, I have been a strong supporter of children learning to swim and ensured my son also ended up being able to swim to a high standard.

Which is why I am saddened that the swimming pool at Sir John Deane’s has been closed, never to reopen. It has been a valuable asset for the town’s children and it is absolutely vital that alternatives are found to fill the gap it’s closure leaves.

This is no criticism of the college. I have watched the struggles of an ageing pool near to where I live that had to close during lockdown and now needs tens of thousands of pounds spending on it to bring it back up to an acceptable standard.

If you add in the ever-increasing energy costs in running a pool, it’s easy to see why the authorities at Sir John Deane’s have taken the decision not to reopen.

Of course, swimming and water safety has been part of the national curriculum since 1994, meaning every child leaving primary school should be able to swim at least 25 metres and have skills to stay safe in water.

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This puts pressure on schools to come up with an alternative, which isn’t easy in the current climate, a point made by Cllr Andrew Cooper who said: “Clearly the college are entitled to look at the running costs of what is now a very old pool, and weigh the extent they’re subsidising the facility for community use.

"Regardless of the reasons, however, it does present a problem for primary schools given the limited supply of school swimming places at the Brio-run leisure centres, not to mention places for private swimming lessons.”

He added: “Along with Mike Amesbury MP and my colleague Cllr Sam Naylor, we will continue to speak to the college and other partners such as Vale Royal School Sports Partnership and Swim England to try and find a solution to this – whether that’s some kind of funding to keep the pool open, or finding a way to increase the availability for primary schools at Northwich Memorial Court and Winsford Lifestyle Centre.

“On this we can’t afford to fail.”

I can’t begin to tell you how much I agree, Cllr Cooper. Failure isn’t an option and we owe it to our kids to find a solution and to find it quickly.