AT THE age of 11, Maria Jago is already displaying a swimming talent that may one day have her going for gold.

Last weekend she achieved four personal bests when she competed at the Sheffield Teaspoons Gala with her team, the Wear Valley Amateur Swimming Club - itself taking the overall trophy for best club performance.

But one of her keenest fans, her father Derek Jago, fears that her future chances and those of many more potential champions in the North-East may be scuppered because of the lack of Olympic standard facilities in the region.

He says local authorities should be working together to create an overall strategy for the sport in school and should jointly fund and campaign for a 50 metre pool in the region.

The Wear Valley club alternates its training between swimming pools at St Johns RC Comprehensive School and Woodhouse Close Leisure complex in Bishop Auckland and the Glenholme Leisure Centre in Crook.

A Wear Valley district councillor, he says: "The facilities are good for what they are. But the problem is they are only 25 metres long. There is no 50 metre pool between Edinburgh and Leeds.

"Maria is getting to the age where the length of the pool makes a big difference. The local authorities are intent on competing against each other to see who can get the better facilities. Instead of going down the same track together they are all going in different directions."

He believes the local authorities should also be creating an overall policy for swimming from school age.

"Although swimming is one of the subjects in the national curriculum it is difficult for pupils to get pool time," he says. "And because of transport costs, schools are pushing the sport to the bottom of their list of priorities."