Tom Daley backs campaign to save one of Scotland's last diving pools

Tom says the closure would be heartbreaking [PA Media] Olympic diver Tom Daley has backed a campaign to save one of Scotland's last diving pools, describing a decision to close it as "heartbreaking". Ayr Diving Club is fighting to save its local diving facilities after South Ayrshire Council announced plans to close them at the end of April due to budget cuts. It means club members face a round trip of 180 miles to the next nearest diving pool, in Edinburgh.

Daley told BBC News that the closure of the pool at the Citadel leisure centre could hamper any growth of the sport in Scotland. "Any diving pool, in any country, anywhere is an absolute treasure, because our sport is so small," the 31-year-old said. "There is a rise of people showing an interest in the sport who want to get involved.

"The fact that instead of more facilities being created, they are being taken away is heartbreaking. " South Ayrshire Council said the decision had not been taken lightly and reflected "significant operational, environmental and financial pressures affecting the long term sustainability of the diving pool". When Daley won his third Commonwealth gold medal at Glasgow 2014, his success sparked a rise in members at Ayr Diving Club .

Now retired, he is Britain's most decorated diver having competed in five Olympic Games and collected three bronze, one silver and one gold medal. But he said that without his local diving pool in Plymouth, he would never have been able to fulfill his dream of becoming an Olympic champion. He told BBC Scotland News it particularly sad to see diving pools close when there are not similar facilities close by.