A children's holiday scheme will be reviewed after attendance at some sessions fell by 50 per cent.
Children taking part in last year's Coastal Fun scheme
Coastal Fun, run by Tendring Council, saw a large drop in the amount of children taking part last summer when fees were introduced.
A report said the year was "disappointing" and raised further concerns about future funding.
Overall, attendance was down 37 per cent compared to 2002, but centres in Clacton, Jaywick and Manningtree saw numbers of children halved.
Venues in Harwich, St Osyth and Brightlingsea were the only ones to be well-used.
Tendring Council's report cited the introduction of a £1.50 booking charge per session as a reason for the ailing attendance figures.
Good weather, a shorter programme and alternative holiday schemes were also offered as explanations for the decrease.
Coastal Fun is fully supervised and designed to keep children busy during holidays, reducing crime.
Published Friday January 30, 2004
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