The acute disappointment felt in Thornton by people who have campaigned so hard to have their local swimming baths refurbished and re-opened is understandable. Unless something can be pulled out of the bag at the last minute, it now seems that next week's Council Executive Committee meeting will back the officers' recommendation to close the 70-year-old building.

Although the Council has introduced adult public swimming sessions at Rhodesway School and is teaching youngsters from Thornton at Rhodesway and Queensbury pools, they are both a bus or car ride away and no substitute for a Pool close at hand in the village. It is deeply disappointing that no way has been found of enabling the Thornton Baths to survive.

Having seen the fate of that amenity, it is hardly surprising that some of the people who live close to Eccleshill Pool should now be concerned that the rundown of the caf there could be the thin end of a wedge which might also lead eventually to the loss of their local swimming facilities.

At present, that seems unlikely. Eccleshill Pool is considerably newer than its Thornton counterpart. However, the replacement of a staffed caf by a refreshments area served by vending machines is a loss that the district could well do without. The caf is a focal point in a community which has seen its local facilities whittled away in recent years.

It is to be hoped that the fears of worried residents about the significance of this move are unfounded. They deserve the strongest reassurances the Council can give them that even if they lose their caf, the pool is safe.