Concrned members of the Borough of Southend Swimming Club fear that the uncertainty over the future of coach Mike Higgs could sink the high-profile squad.

While Higgs is barred from taking training sessions at their home pool in Southend there are fears that he may never be able to return to the club where he has developed Olympians Sarah Hardcastle and Mark Foster.

And that could spell disaster for one of the town's most successful assets.

There are also concerns about a wall of silence when members of the Borough squad fill in feedback forms about conditions at the recently-refurbished pool.

The opening ceremony was marred by a fault with the chlorination units, which left the first batch of swimmers fleeing the water with streaming eyes after the water was treated with twice as many chemicals as it should have been.

And more recently the swim centre was closed for an inspection of the ventilation units following complaints -- though no problem was found at that time.

But swim club members claim they have received no response to their complaints, and some are beginning to contemplate moving elsewhere to pursue their sporting ambitions. Southend Council and Parkwood Leisure both insist there has been no attempt to silence the complaints of club members.

"Parkwood Leisure and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council take all concerns regarding facilities extremely seriously and endeavour to resolve any issues that are brought to them," a council spokesman said.

Published Wednesday, August 6, 2003

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