London mayor Boris Johnson and Olympic swimming gold medallist Rebecca Adlington have officially opened a new mobile swimming pool adjacent to Gabriel's Wharf on the capital's South Bank.

The British Gas Pools 4 School Summer Camp facility has been developed in association with social enterprise Coin Street Community Builders, and is located between the London Eye and Oxo Tower Wharf landmarks. Sponsored by energy company British Gas, the Pools 4 Schools initiative was devised by Total Swimming chief executive Steve Parry and aims to provide temporary swimming facilities for children and families in areas where access to local pools is restricted.

In addition to the temporary swimming pool, amenities include bathing huts, refreshment stalls, deckchairs and ice cream kiosks as part of a leisure and relaxation area. Johnson said: "This mobile swimming pool, with its unique riverside location, is sure to be a superb draw for the South Bank. With three years to go to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we must get Londoners young and old more active.

"That's why, through the PlaySport London programme, I am investing in a range of initiatives to boost sporting participation in the capital, including our own new scheme to bring mobile pools to boroughs later this year." British Gas marketing director, Rick Vlemmiks, added: "Swimming is a vital life skill and great way to keep fit, yet too many people in Britain can't swim. We're setting ourselves the challenge of getting 10,000 non-swimmers in the pool and swimming in the next year and we'll be travelling the country with our mobile pools, asking people to take the plunge."