A swimming club with hundreds of members has vowed to stay afloat despite the sudden closure of its much-loved pool.

Folkestone Swimming Club has been without a home since the end of July - 52 years after it was formed.

It came after Folkestone Sports Centre Trust told users it was closing its doors as the charity could "no longer afford to remain operational".

But club chairman Ian Howes, who has been in charge for almost a decade, has urged members to stick with the group, which has about 300 people on its books.

"A swimming club with no pool is like a football team with no pitch, but a football club can play on a patch of grass whereas not having a swimming pool makes a huge difference," he said.

“But one of the things we want to do is get the whole club swimming again.

“We are exploring various different options and while we won't all be together swimming at the same time as we have in the previous iterations of the club, we will get all our members swimming again.”

Folkestone Sports Centre, in Radnor Park Avenue, had been used by generations of residents before its sudden closure resulted in 144 job losses.

The trust which ran the facility says it had to call in administrators as the “current national and indeed worldwide situation" had seen a "dramatic increase" in its costs.

The next nearest pool is in Hythe but Mr Howes, 54, says it is a lot smaller than their former home in Folkestone and is not in the best condition.

“We’ve been offered some sessions at Hythe but we have to make the time work with our coaching team because we’re all volunteers,” he said.

"In the short term, parents understand what we're doing, how we're doing it, and why we're doing it and say they will stick with the club.

"If it becomes a longer-term thing, retention of members is going to be much more difficult."

Last Monday, the club met at The Duke of York's Royal Military School in Dover, which it will be using for the following two weeks.

But Mr Howes, who lives in Tenterden, says he still hopes it can return to Folkestone Sports Centre.

“It's important to note that we are not giving up on getting back to our home pool,” he said.

“There are actions going on in the background pressuring those that need pressure put on them to actually try and get us back in as soon as possible.

"But until such time as the pool at Folkestone becomes available again we will continue to train as and where we can and just keep the club alive.

"We need to make sure our athletes are getting the best that we can provide at any time.”

More than 8,000 people have now signed a petition calling on Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) to "save" Folkestone Sports Centre.

It comes as Opus Restructuring and Insolvency was appointed as joint administrators on August 1.

Green-led FHDC says it has spoken to bosses at Opus, but says “the next step in the future of the centre remains in the hands of the administrator”.

Earlier this month, the authority organised a support event for former centre staff at its Civic Centre.

A spokeswoman said: “Forty people, including former members of staff and some brought family members too, attended the event.

“They were able to talk to council staff from our welfare team and representatives of the Department of Work and Pensions.

“Staff from East Kent College also came and were able to share information about courses and skills training.

“The feedback from those who came was positive about the support offered and many were pleased to be able to meet up and support former colleagues.”

FHDC had planned to replace Hythe Swimming Pool with a new facility at Princes Parade on the seafront, but the controversial development was dropped last year.