THE Prime Minister has praised members of the community who pulled together to save their swimming pool from closure.

Wotton Swimming Pool Club has been awarded one of David Cameron’s Big Society Awards.

It recognises the work of the club members who, with the support of the local community, saved Wotton Pool from closure after the district council pulled the plug on its funding as part of its efficiency savings.

With the support of Wotton Town Council a local referendum was held in which 90 per cent of people voted to pay extra on their council tax to keep the pool open.

Last month the pool opened for the new season, having been fully cleaned by volunteers and repaired with money raised by the community.

Mr Cameron said: "Huge congratulations to all the dedicated and passionate volunteers at Wotton-under-Edge Swimming Club and all those they have mobilised to get involved with the pool's future."

Mr Cameron said the community had demonstrated his idea of ‘the big society’ in many ways from volunteering their time to running the service themselves.

"It just shows what a community can do when it comes together," he continued. "A fantastic achievement, I wish them every success for the future."

Four members of the Wotton Pool Committee attended an award winners’ reception at Downing Street last week. Alan George, chairman of the pool committee, said that since the pool was built by children and staff at the secondary school in the 1950s there had always been a thriving community spirit in Wotton which had given rise to many volunteer-run facilities, such as the cinema and heritage centre.

Mr George said the pool was a "natural extension of this ethic".

He added: "I am thrilled by the generosity of strangers and volunteers alike and so grateful to work with a team of givers, all of whom want to make our town a great place to live."

The Big Society Awards were set up by the Prime Minister in November 2010 with 12 winners decided each quarter and then announced one a week throughout the year. So far 17 have been handed out.