Active Luton has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to further develop and promote diving in the region.

Diving has already seen a surge in popularity locally since the opening of the world class Inspire: Luton Sports Village last year and the new funding will ensure that this continues.

The money will be used to fund a three year 'beacon' programme which aims to increase local participation in the sport and will offer elite coaching to the region's best young divers.

The programme is being developed by two experienced divers, Harry Glover and David Jenkins, who have trained with and been coached by the very best in British diving. Glover and Jenkins are employed by Active Luton to develop the sport locally.

A number of dive camps and coaching sessions will be run at Inspire where locally selected young divers will benefit from experienced coaches and world class facilities.

With additional coaches and expert training being offered, it is hoped that the programme will eventually lead to more people from Luton competing in international diving competitions.

Harry Glover, Diving Development Officer, said: "We are delighted to be awarded this funding and can't wait to get everything up and running. There are a number of talented young divers here in Luton and I am confident that this programme will lead to many of them going on to achieve international success."

Helen Barnett, Chief Executive at Active Luton, said: "I would like to thank Harry and David for all the work they have done to develop diving locally. We have had hundreds of people sign up to our diving courses in recent months and this latest funding will ensure that we can get the very best out of our most promising divers."

Cllr Mohammed Ashraf, Portfolio Holder for sports and arts, said: "We said from the beginning that Inspire was more than just a venue that anyone can use to get active and become healthier. It is also very much about developing future sporting champions and this funding is a big step towards achieving this."