SWIMMING pools in the Greenwich borough have handled the highest number of free swims in the News Shopper area, according to Government figures.

Bexley, Lewisham and Greenwich councils all signed up to the Government’s £140 million free swimming initiative last year, offering over 60s and under 16s free admission to their pools.

In April, May and June, Bexley’s pools handled 8,434 free swims.

Lewisham handed out 15,020 free swimming tickets, while Greenwich pools hosted 15,931 free swims.

Gravesham council only offer over 60s the chance of swimming for free and it handled a total of 5,639 swimming sessions in the same three months.

The Department for Culture, Media And Sport says more than a thousand local authority pools in England have been offering free swimming to more than 20 million people aged 16 and under, or 60 and over, since April.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Ben Bradshaw said: “We never had any doubt that free swimming was going to make a splash – but it has shown itself to be an even bigger success with people, young and old, than we had ever expected.

“This is a big idea that has fast become a big hit at pools all over London.”

More than 250 councils have backed the scheme, including 31 in London.

Bromley Council and Dartford Council have not signed up to the initiative.

The borough’s of Wandsworth (40,000), Islington (33,000) and Barking and Dagenham (32,000), hosted the highest numbers of free swimming sessions in the capital.