THE sunshine brought out the swimmers in the first week of the school summer holidays – and with the thermometer nudging 30 degrees, Petersfield open-air pool is welcoming record numbers through its gates. The summer heatwave, and a pool temperature of around 28 degrees, was all it took for queues to snake across the Festival Hall car park on Heath Road to take advantage of the town's flourishing facilities. "We've been up to capacity with more than 125 swimmers in the pool, another 15 babies with parents in the paddling pool, plus lots of spectators," said Heidi Crew, a lifeguard at the pool. "It's been absolutely manic, but really good and very busy," said manager Viv Mays, who is in her 44th year at the popular pool. "People have had to wait up to 30 minutes and come in on a one-in, one-out basis. Sometimes we have had to close the pool during both the morning and afternoon sessions. "We have had up to 3,000 people a day and we are all working non-stop‚" said a delighted Viv. For full story, see this week's Petersfield Herald.