CHILD care specialists and swimming tutors teamed-up to teach nursery children how to swim.

Swimtime and Brooklands Childcare in Leigh drew-up a programme to offer swimming lessons to youngsters at the Walmesley Road nursery who are being taught in small group classes at the DW Health Club pool on the Parsonage Retail Park.

Richard Wilson, director of Swimtime, and swimming instructor Paula Crosthwaite aim to expand the service.

Mr Wilson said: "Not only are the children learning to swim they are also keeping fit and active, with the walk to and from the pool.

"We are looking at rolling the program out across other areas to help more children."

David Sparkes, of the Amateur Swimming Association, said: "Swimming is one of the easiest, safest forms of exercise for children of all abilities, and school swimming is the single most effective way of teaching children how to be safe in and around water.

"Yet swimming is one of the few areas of a child's statutory education that is all too often left unmeasured, unchecked or, for 1.1 million children, unfulfilled."

More details from Swimtime at www.swimtime.org