Nearly 2,500 people visited a new £12.7m leisure centre in its first week open on the north Norfolk coast.

The Reef, on Weybourne Road in Sheringham, opened on November 30.

Customers were queueing before 7am and in its first seven days, 2,437 people visited the new centre, which is run by Everyone Active on behalf of North Norfolk District Council (NNDC).

The swimming facilities were used nearly 1,000 times.

Stuart Jardine, Everyone Active's contract manager, said: "We are delighted to see so many people already enjoying The Reef and experiencing the wide range of activities on offer.

"We have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback we have received from customers and it's been a great start to life for the centre.

"We are really positive that we can grow our membership numbers over the coming months and that people from across the community will continue to use this fantastic facility," he added.

NNDC invested nearly £11m in the project, alongside a £1m grant from Sport England's strategic facilities fund.

The centre boasts a six-lane, 25m main pool, learner pool with adjustable depth floor, splash pad, gym, dance studio, cycling studio and cafe.

Karl Read, NNDC's leisure and locality services manger, said: "The council is immensely proud of The Reef leisure centre, which is our largest-ever capital construction project.

"The facility has been specifically designed to meet the needs of residents, while having the versatility to provide an offer to visitors."

Mr Read said they were aiming for 282,000 visits to The Reef each year, which would be an 81pc increase on previous visitor numbers at Splash.

The 25m main pool is built to Sport England standards and supports a range of aquatic activities from competitive swimming events to inflatable play sessions for children, which are due to be added in the near future.

The main pool is accessible via shallow steps with an assisting handrail and a poolpod for pool users who require a wheelchair.

The poolpod is supported by a wheelchair storage zone near the Changing Places facility and a dedicated pool-side wheelchair for disabled users to transfer to, which is compatible with the poolpod.