POOLE’S main swimming pool is to be closed throughout its busiest month of the year.

The Dolphin pool was shut on Monday afternoon following an electrical fire in the basement.

It was initially hoped the shutdown could be kept to a matter of days rather than weeks, with the school holidays already in full swing.

But a lengthy closure is now a reality as the panel that is needed to repair the blown electrical control box needs to be custom made and cannot just be ordered.

Claire James, spokeswoman for SLM, which manages Poole’s three council-owned leisure centres, said a reopening date of September 1 had been pencilled in but this was a “worst-case scenario”.

She said: “We could never have anticipated this would have happened.

“The panel will need to be installed and tested before we can let anyone back in the centre.” SLM have sent around 3,000 texts to members of the centre informing them of the news, along with hundreds of emails.

Dolphin users can use the other SLM-managed facilities at Rossmore and Ashdown for free in the closure period.

Customers wanting to swim in August are now being directed to Rossmore Leisure Centre in Herbert Avenue, Those wanting to continue exercise classes and use the gym can use Ashdown Leisure Centre on Adastral Road.

The fire that began in the centre’s basement at around 2.50pm on Monday prompted an evacuation of the centre.