A LEISURE centre has increased the cost of its swimming sessions just weeks after it was criticised for its ‘extortionate’ prices.

BH Live Active’s Stokewood site in Bournemouth now charges £6.80 for adult public swim sessions rather than £6.50.

The amended fees have been introduced across BH Live in attempt to tackle increased costs at the centres.

Stokewood is currently undergoing a 12-week-long refurbishment to its changing facilities, which BH Live say will make "a big difference".

As this continues, members and centre users have been told to come ‘swim ready’ as there will be some days the showers are out of use.

The costs of the swimming sessions were said to be “the talk of the changing room”, even before they were increased to £6.80.

In December, the Daily Echo spoke with a swimmer who was calling for the fees to be reduced.

He said the prices were “already expensive”, especially when the changing facilities were restricted.

The same swimmer also complained that the pool at Stokewood was often “unusable”, with so many swimmers coming over from the Littledown Centre after it closed through December for 'essential maintenance work’.

BH Live is encouraging anyone with questions or concerns to speak with them at the centre.

A spokesperson for BH Live said: “Due to the continuous rise in energy prices and the recent increase in staffing costs, we have amended our pricing for adult public swim sessions across BH Live to tackle growing maintenance costs at our swimming facilities.

"As a registered charity, any surplus we do make from our leisure centres and activities is reinvested back into services for the benefit of our customers and the local community.

“Swimming is still one of our best value activities and we also provide concessions for seniors, juniors, those on low income, and reduced pricing options for visitors referred by our exercise referral scheme.

"Under 5s can also swim for free. Regular swimmers may also benefit from one of our BH Live Active memberships which includes multi-site access to pools and facilities across the region."