CIVIC chiefs have warned that one of Southampton’s main leisure facilities needs major repairs and could be closed for up to six months.

The pool at the 33-year-old Bitterne Leisure Centre has shut following an inspection which revealed the state of the roof was worse than thought.

Plans to close the pool hall for repairs were suddenly brought forward amid fears for the safety of swimmers and staff.

Last night, Michael Harris, a member of the city council’s management team, confirmed that the baths were likely to be shut for several months.

He added: “We’ve been investigating concerns about the wooden roof beams and closed the pool after the latest results showed the degradation had progressed further than anticipated.”

The closure means the pool is likely to be out of action throughout the summer, resulting in huge lost income.

Customers took to social media to voice their dismay at the pool’s sudden closure.

Julie Ballard said: “We will have to sort of new lessons. We thought the pool might only have been closed for a couple of weeks but it appears not.”

Trish Crocker added: “I’m sure it won’t be long before they say it’s not cost effective to repair and privatise it like most our council services.”

The council-owned leisure centre is run by Active Nation, a national sport and exercise charity.

Writing on social media it said: “We have been doing structural work on the roof of the swimming pool hall over the last few weeks, but upon further inspection we have been advised to close the pool hall with immediate effect. We are currently working with the city council to get the problem resolved as soon as we can.”

All the other facilities at Bitterne Leisure Centre are unaffected and will remain open.