KEEN swimmers Lilian Nealon and Margaret Hulme reluctantly said farewell to the Water Place when the swimming pool closed its doors for good.

The Deane pensioners had started a petition to keep the rundown complex open, but their efforts were not enough to save it.

The two friends were among the last people to use the 25-metre training pool yesterday and are now looking for another place to swim.

Lilian, aged 62, said: "I have loved coming here. I used to come here every day when water aerobics was on. I've made a lot of friends and I've even lost five stone. It's really kept me healthy.

"Now if I want to go for a swim I will have to catch two buses. It's ridiculous that Bolton town centre won't have a swimming pool."

Kim Browning regularly took her daughter Natalie, aged six, to the pool and was furious about the decision to close. Kim, aged 36, from Bradley Fold, said: "They are always saying that young people don't have anywhere to go, and then they go and close down places like this.

"My daughter's very upset. She loved coming here and I don't know where I am going to take her now."

On the Water Place's last day, it was about a quarter full. There were between 80 to 100 swimmers in the 400-capacity swimming centre.

Manager Rob Garner said: "It's been very quiet today. Business has dropped off since people learned it was going to close. One or two of the regulars are disappointed, but a lot are optimistic about a new town centre pool being built."

The centre's 14 staff are to be re-deployed and Mr Garner, who has been manager for six years, said he was looking forward to what the future has in store.

Town hall chiefs decided to close the £5.9 million complex, which also had a fun pool with water slides and chutes, because they could not afford the millions needed to repair and modernise the building.

Since the Water Place opened in 1988, visitor numbers have dropped from 350,000 a year to 230,000. It has never made a profit and last year cost £731,000 to keep open.

Calls have been made to build a 50-metre pool, possibly on the Water Place site, or in Moss Bank Park or Queen's Park.