THE nation could be facing a collapse in its health and leisure infrastructure, the industry has warned, as pools and gyms were allowed to reopen their doors in the latest easing of lockdown measures.

Only around 20% of pools in England opened on Saturday, the head of the national governing body for swimming said, with thousands potentially shut for good unless the Government intervenes.

Jane Nickerson, chief executive of Swim England, said that even before Covid-19 struck 40% of the country's ageing pool stock was facing closure before the end of the decade.

She said many local facilities have had no support at all over the last three months.

Ms Nickerson told Radio 4's Today programme: "We know every single pool returns around £7.2 million in community benefits - in social cohesion, crime prevention, education attainment and health benefits.

"So a little bit of support now from the Government will have its payback within months.

"It is not like it's asking for money that just gets thrown away - by tackling the health and obesity crisis in the pool, it actually saves a lot of money."

She added: "One of our biggest, biggest fears is that there will be a lost generation of children this year who don't learn to swim."

Ms Nickerson's fears are shared by Community Leisure UK, the association representing charitable leisure and culture trusts across England, Scotland and Wales.

It estimates as many as 1,300 public leisure facilities could disappear by the end of the year, along with more than 58,000 jobs.