IT was a case or water, water everywhere this week as the taps were turned on at Lancaster's multi-million pound Salt Ayre swimming pool.

The fill up started on Monday and will take seven days to complete, with a massive 330,000 gallons of water splashing into the new pool.

The water has been pumped in slowly to ensure the swimming pool, which is the size of a five-a-side football pitch, is not overloaded with the weight of such a large quantity of water.

It has been filled with ordinary tap water and will be treated with chlorine at a later date.

The fill up is the culmination of 18 months' building work and, when full, a team of divers will check the pool's ingenious floating floors, which changes the depth for different activities.

Council leisure committee chief, Cllr John Lodge, said: "It is really pleasing to reach this stage of development of Salt Ayre. It has taken many years hard work but seeing water in this splendid new pool for the very first time makes it all worthwhile. The people of this area deserve these excellent facilities, which should be open to everyone later on during the summer."

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