TWO leading members of a committee set up to fight to save Portishead Open Air Pool from closure have resigned – after claiming council chiefs tried to intimidate them.

Chairman of the Friends of Portishead Open Air Pool committee, Tonia Carless, and campaigner Annette Hennessey have resigned following a heated meeting with members of a panel set up by North Somerset Council to review the operation and costs of the seafront attraction.

The review panel was set up earlier this year to conduct an investigation into the running and maintenance costs of the attraction.

A final report of the panel is due to be presented to the authority's scrutiny panel this autumn.

The Friends group set up the committee in May this year in an attempt to work with North Somerset Council to secure the future of the seafront attraction.

Both Mrs Carless and Mrs Hennessey say their decision to resign came because panel members tried to pressure them into withholding information discussed at the meeting from members of the Friends group.

The pair, who released a statement detailing the reasons behind their resignations this week, claim members of the panel intimidated them during the discussions.

Mrs Hennessey said: "We are not prepared to be silenced by bullying tactics.

"I do not feel comfortable withholding information and I am not prepared to be intimidated as a way of preventing me asking vital questions regarding the pool's future.

"We set up a committee earlier this year with the belief we could go to the council and gain information about what is happening regarding the future of the pool.

"However, we have come to the conclusion that acting as a committee does not serve any purpose as the council is not required to give us any more information than it currently does to the general public.

"The fact we were working as a committee was actually restricting us from sharing information with members of the Friends group and this is unsatisfactory.

"I made it clear that the committee was not prepared to withhold information from the pool supporters.

"If the purpose of forming a committee is not benefiting the members of the group or the campaign to save the pool from closure, there is no point in having one.

"We will achieve more as a support group and if necessary get the answers we need about the pool by using the Freedom of Information Act."

Mrs Hennessey said she and Mrs Carless, who founded the Friends of Portishead Open Air Pool group, would remain active members of the group and continue fighting to try and save the pool.

Mrs Hennessey, who has also stepped down as spokesman for the Friends group, said: "We will continue to fight to protect the future of the open air pool for the people of Portishead and the surrounding area."

North Somerset Council deputy leader, Councillor Elfan Ap Rees, who is a member of the review panel and was at the meeting, said in no way did councillors intimidate or bully Mrs Hennessey or Mrs Carless.

He said: "In no way has the council or any councillor behaved in a bullying or intimidating way towards any members of the committee.

"The review panel invited members of the pool committee to the meeting because we wanted to hear their views and answer questions."

Councillor Tim Marter, who is also on the review panel, said: "Mrs Hennessey's behaviour towards the panel did nothing to promote positive relationships in terms of discussing options for the future of the pool."

Portishead Open Air Pool is the only remaining open air swimming pool in North Somerset.

It opened in the 1960s and is run by contractors DC Leisure.