Dartmouth's indoor swimming pool dream is still at serious risk of being shattered just months before it was due to come true.

District council bosses are refusing to abandon their demands for a £155,000 bond which pool trustees have warned they cannot afford and will mean the end of the community pool project if they are forced to find it.

South Hams councillors, meeting yesterday, were adamant that they need that cash in place to cover their backs if the major indoor pool project collapses and they end up with a half-built complex on the council-owned site beside the prominent Townstal gateway to Dartmouth.

They left a door open for the pool trustees by giving them the chance to come up with an alternative to the bond – which could involve some form of financial guarantee by Kier Construction which has already been given the job of building the pool.

More on this story in this week's Chronicle - plus see next week's Chronicle for more on the meeting.