Residents of Mundesley have expressed their shock and sadness following the closure of a pool which had been open in their village for more than 50 years.

It was announced by the Coastal Federation yesterday that the swimming pool based at Mundesley Infant School would be closed on March 28.

The Coastal Federation are a group of schools made up of Bacton Primary School, Mundesley Infant School and Mundesley Junior School, run by a central governing body.

In the announcement the federation said: 'We wanted to explain, in detail, the rationale for closure, which can be categorised into two main areas: financial viability: as the pool currently runs at a substantial yearly loss, and curriculum opportunities, as the pool's structure limit's the children's ability to meet national curriculum requirements due to its 15m length and 1m depth.'

Courtney Jacobs' son Chaise, 6, is a pupil at the school. She said: 'My son absolutely loves it, he looks forward to it every week and is so excited on a Monday morning.

'It's a part of the village's heritage, my husband learned to swim there, so did his sister and his brother, and they all learned from the teacher that's still there to this day. I wanted my daughter Evie to learn there but that's been taken away.'

The 24-year-old mum of two added: 'The problem was we had no opportunity to try and help. We just got an email saying it was closing and the parents were given no opportunity to do something.

'All the parents were saying they'd chip in or people in the construction industry would offer their time to get it to where it needs to be, because they want to build something for their children.'

The Mundesley resident added: 'It's a seaside town and this is a life skill children in this area need, to be able to float and be safe in the water at least.'

The pool was opened in 1967, and was open air and unheated, which was later covered and heating installed.

The school has been approached for comment.