THE closing of one of the area's best known and longest-established swimming clubs has been branded "a sad day" by its chairman.

Grimsby Santa Marina Swimming Club, which was established in 1969, folded earlier this year with its youngsters competing for the final time at the Rotherham Metro Open Meet in Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

Created by a group of aqua enthusiasts – including the 1950s English Channel swimmer Brenda Fisher – the club has taught thousands of children from the area how to swim, and achieved great success competitively.

But a lack of resources forced Santa Marina's organisers to finally call it a day after more than 40 years.

Speaking to the Telegraph, GSM's chairman Ken Brocklesby explained: "It was a sad day but it was also what the town has needed for a long time. Grimsby is too small a place to accommodate two clubs .

"To compete against the big clubs you've got to have a membership of about 300-400 kids, which we didn't have.

"The club closed basically because we couldn't get a coach and if you haven't got a coach people move to a club that has.

"We had a really good coach in Mark Foster, but he has moved on to the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) now, helping them prepare for the 2012 Olympics.

"It was also costing us more than £50,000 a year for pool hire, and we just couldn't afford it."

Brocklesby, who had been involved in the club since 1970 with his wife Mo, explained that many of Santa Marina's young swimmers have moved on to the neighbouring Cleethorpes and District Swimming Club.

"We've finished the club but we've integrated with CADS, so all our kids are swimming with them now, which is a good thing," he commented.

"We've been advocating that the two clubs join together for 10-15 years now, so this is the solution.

"A lot of people in the area will have learnt to swim at Santa Marina, there have been thousands come through over the years.

"We have some great memories and had a lot of success in competitions – at one stage the whole of the Lincolnshire team were Santa Marina swimmers.

"We've been lucky and met a lot of wonderful people through the club – it wouldn't have achieved so much and made such a difference without so many fantastic volunteers."