Watford MP Claire Ward has made new waves in the ongoing free swimming row, this time using government figures to criticise Watford Borough Council.

The council, which boasts some of the finest swimming facilities in the region, has so far refused to sign up to a Government scheme offering free swimming to the under 16s and over 60s, with Mayor Dorothy Thornhill describing it as a “rip-off.”

Labour minister Ms Ward, however, has highlighted figures released by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, showing how popular the scheme had been with residents in the Three Rivers District.

The healthy looking figure, she argued, is all the more distressing because most of those swims are taken in Watford’s state-of-the-art pools - in part because of the ongoing problems with the redevelopment of Rickmansworth's William Penn Leisure Centre.

The figures show some 12,797 free swimming trips were taken by Three Rivers Residents in the six months to September.

Ms Ward said: "These figures are good news for Three Rivers residents, but it is just such a shame that the Lib Dems in Watford refuse to take advantage of the Labour government's free swimming programme.

"If our neighbours in Three Rivers can make over 12,000 trips to the pool for free, why won't the Watford Lib Dems let my constituents do the same?

"They are letting our young people and elderly residents down, because they refuse to participate in this initiative."

Watford Borough Council, however, argue the scheme is politically motivated and makes no financial sense. Mayor Thornhill said she would receive only £19,000 in Government funding for a scheme that would cost more than £90,000 to implement.

The result, she has repeatedly claimed, would be an increased burden to the taxpayer that could not be justified.

The free swimming scheme has been heralded by the government as a cost effective way to tackle obesity and promote healthy lifestyles.