More than twice as many swimming pools have closed in the last 12 months as have opened, according to the 2015 State of the UK Swimming Industry Report.

The new report – which brings more bad news for the struggling swimming sector – reveals that the number of swimming sites in the UK fell 0.7 per cent over the twelve-month period to the end of March 2015, representing a third straight year of decline.

The report found that there are now 3,265 swimming sites in the UK, down from 3,287 last year, with private sites closing at a faster rate than public facilities. It was also highlighted that public pay and play fees have increased by 3 per cent over the last 12 months, adding another hurdle to participation.

Despite being the most popular participation sport in England – with more than 2.5 million adults taking part in 30 minutes of moderate intensity swimming at least once a week – swimming has been on the decline in recent times. The most recent Sport England figures showed 144,200 fewer people taking to the pool in the last six months and 390,700 fewer in the last year. The long term trend is also concerning, with 729,000 people stopping swimming in the last decade.

Despite the falling figures, the 2015 State of the UK Swimming Industry Report concludes that 84 per cent of the UK population lives within two miles of a public or privately owned swimming pool with some public access.

David Minton, director of The Leisure Database Company – the firm behind the latest report – said: “The good news is that swimming remains the most popular sport in the country. The bad news, according to Sport England’s latest Active People figures, is that 245000 fewer people are participating.

“With the official participation figures for swimming seeing a consistent decline, I wonder if this is a direct result of having fewer pools available.”