Diggers move in at derelict pool

Digging has begun inside the old Tynemouth Lido, to see what material was used to fill in the pool when it closed in the mid 1990s.

The pool, which is now in a state of disrepair, is located at the southern end of Tynemouth Longsands beach. Built in the 1920s, it is a rectangular concrete salt water tidal pool. It was a popular attraction for over 50 years, but started to fall out of fashion in the late 70s with the advent of cheap package holidays abroad.

The Local Authority demolished the buildings surrounding the pool in the mid 1990s, and filled the pool itself with rubble and concrete in the hope of encouraging marine life to make the pool its home. According to the Friends of Tynemouth Pool - a campaign group hoping to raise money to reopen the pool, "the anticipated marine life they introduced never flourished and the pool remains an eyesore to this day."

The group received a £50,000 grant towards the renovation project in December, but with the whole project running at an estimated cost of £5m, there's still some way to go until the renovation can start in earnest.