A COUNCIL that has been forced to close its paddling pools last night said new guidance could be the death-knell of other facilities.

Harrogate Borough Council, in North Yorkshire, is closing its three remaining paddling pools because of rising costs.

Council chiefs said they had been directed by the national Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group to install expensive automatic filter systems rather than manually chlorinate its paddling pools.

This, coupled with guidance from the Health and Safety and Executive on the full-time supervision of paddling pools, was likely to cost the authority almost £250,000.

Councillor Pat Jones said: "Paddling is one of those things we took for granted as children, but faceless bureaucrats, who probably do not know our district even has paddling pools, have put a stop to that."

Despite the move, the remaining councils across the region which operated paddling pools said they had no plans to close facilities.

Paul Branch, the head of leisure services for Teesdale District Council which has a paddling pool at Scar Top, Barnard Castle, said: "It would be my call to close the pool and there are no plans to do so at the moment."

"Obviously if it was to be closed, it would have to go through members first."

Hartlepool Borough Council has pools at Seaton Carew and on the Headland. A spokesman said: "We will be studying this guidance, but there are no plans to close the pools at present."

Scarborough Borough Council said its pools in Whitby and Filey would stay open.

Julie Lewcock, operations manager at the Riverside, in Chester-le-Street ,said its children's paddling pool met health and safety regulations.