Free swimming for teens in water safety scheme

Windsor Leisure Centre is one of the sites offering the free sessions

Teenagers are being offered free swimming sessions as part of a water safety initiative.

The Summer Safe Swim scheme, run by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council in Berkshire, aims to reduce the risk of young people getting into trouble in lakes and rivers.

Open to those aged 13 - 17, the one-hour sessions will be held on weekdays in the summer holidays.

Spaces can be booked at Windsor Leisure Centre and Braywick Leisure Centre.

With up to 40 spaces available for each session, the council said it hoped local teenagers would learn water safety skills and improve their swimming abilities.

The scheme, in conjunction with the authority's leisure operator Leisure Focus, will run from 22 July to 30 August.

Jatinder Singh Rakhra, the company's sports inclusion and participation manager, said water safety was a "top priority".

"We believe that by empowering our youth with these skills, we can make a significant impact on reducing water-related incidents in our community,” he added.