Scuba divers from a Preston diving club will be going in deep at Blackpool Sea Life Centre this weekend to swim with sharks.

And visitors are invited to pop along for a chat with the scuba divers in the shark tank at the aquarium centre, situated on Blackpool's famous seafront.

Tomorrow sees the launch of diving displays at the attraction, with the unique feature of two-way communication between the divers and spectators.

"Diving demonstrations are carried out at some other aquariums, but these will be the only ones where visitors will be able to talk to the divers as they swim among the largest collection of tropical sharks in Europe," said the centre's John Filmer.

"A hi-tech communications system will enable visitors to speak direct to the divers at the push of a button.

"They might want to ask a technical question about the diving equipment, ask what it's like to be in the water with so many sharks or maybe just ask for a wave."

The centre's ocean tank houses four species of shark, tawny nurse sharks, sandbar sharks and both black-tipped and white-tipped reef sharks.

The three-metre deep display which holds half-a-million litres of water is also home to 50 species of colourful reef fish.

The divers, from Fins based in Preston, are already accustomed to taking the plunge in the tank, having done so many times before to carry out routine maintenance tasks.

The talking shark dives are at 11am, 1pm and 3pm and will be repeated on Sunday and Monday.