Not all swimmers will have free use of council pools

The �2.5m scheme was launched by Sports Minister Alun Pugh in Wrexham on Monday.

However, the policy will not be automatic and the final decision will rest with local councils.

Under the project youngsters should be able to swim without paying in many areas.

A Welsh Assembly spokeswoman said: "This is now a national scheme...during the pilot scheme we saw a 108% increase across all of Wales' pools".

The 22 local authorities have their own [swimming] cards and the mechanism for making them work throughout Wales isn't available at this moment Aled Roberts Anglesey Council

However, she said that whilst technically Welsh youngsters should be able to swim for free throughout the country, that may not be the case.

"There could be some areas where there are a number of holidaymakers and the council may give preference to local children," the Assembly spokeswoman added.

The Welsh Assembly Government is putting �2.5m into the Free Swim scheme this Summer, as well as �1.3m to fund a pilot this autumn to offer free swimming for people aged 60 and over.

Wrexham Council confirmed that children from throughout Wales could swim for free in their leisure centres during the school holidays.

However, Aled Roberts from Anglesey Council said they could not guarantee all Welsh youngsters free use of their pools.

"The 22 local authorities have their own [swimming] cards and the mechanism for making them work throughout Wales isn't available at this moment."

'Enormous success'

However, he said that he hoped children across Wales would be able to swim for free "in the not too distant future".

In the meantime a partnership has been formed between the three north west councils to ensure youngsters from Anglesey, Conwy and Gwynedd can use local pools without paying during school holidays.

In a joint statement they said the Assembly Government's free swimming scheme had been an "enormous success and has led to a substantial increase in swimming admissions in all three counties".

"This new partnership will offer even greater flexibility and choice for parents and children this summer."

The scheme was launched after 10 Welsh councils took part in a free swim pilot project over the Easter break last year.

Sports Minister Alun Pugh said: "I am very proud of the fact that Wales is the first nation in Europe to have national scheme like this.

"It shows the long-term, innovative approach the Assembly Government is taking to encourage healthier lifestyles in Wales."