Years of waiting and hoping are coming to an end for Billericay and Wickford's special needs children - with a date set for work to start on their £200,000 pool.

Castledon School in Wickford has been campaigning for five years to raise the cash it needs to build the specially designed indoor swimming pool. Staff, governors and parents believe it could transform pupils' lives.

Now, at last, the Bromfords Drive school is within just £7,000 of its £205,000 target. And if the council grants planning permission, work will begin later in January.

Chairman of the governors Jenny Simmons said: "It's unbelievable that we have got where we are - but we won't be hanging out the flags just yet!

''We have already met the target once, last year, but when we went back to the builders we found that the cost had gone up, so we were delayed for months."

The huge total has been raised through grants from trusts and organisations, including a £40,000 donation from the Sports Foundation.

Children at the school, which specialises in caring for youngsters with learning difficulties such as autism, have to travel to pools as far afield as Basildon. This means that they only enjoy swimming once a week.

Mrs Simmons said the new pool will allow them to swim much more regularly, bringing them enormous physical and social benefits.

"Physically, a lot of the children have got very poor co-ordination and their muscle tone is not as good,'' she explained.

''Swimming is very good for that, and that in turn helps with other things, even with their handwriting. It also means they can go out and swim with their families and have fun swimming on a level with their brothers and sisters."

The school is hoping that local firms will come forward and make donations towards the £7,000 still needed.

If you can help, call the school on 01268 761252.

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