IT was all hands to the pumps for Beccles fire-fighters on Monday as they offered their services to Beccles pool.Beccles Lido Ltd, which now runs the outdoor pool, enlisted the help of Suffolk's fire service to fill it up with water after it had got to a dangerously low level.

IT was all hands to the pumps for Beccles fire-fighters on Monday as they offered their services to Beccles pool.

Beccles Lido Ltd, which now runs the outdoor pool, enlisted the help of Suffolk's fire service to fill it up with water after it had got to a dangerously low level.

The pool was virtually empty at the shallow end and had only two or three feet of water in the deep end.

The firefighters all volunteered their services and pumped water drawn from the nearby River Waveney.

The pool needs to be kept full of water to counteract the surrounding ground water pressure, which could crack the pool walls.

An existing crack running down the centre of the pool could be made worse by the problem, too.

The exercise was used as a drill for the firefighters for emergencies where the water supply has run out and they have to use water from open water sources.

Tim Bray, watch manager at Beccles fire station, said: “This pool has been used for many, many years, and a lot of the guys at the station have got children. It's a worthwhile cause.”

Maureen Saunders, a direc-tor of Beccles Lido, said: “I can't express how grateful we are.”

For more information on Beccles Lido visit www.

beccleslido.com

Winners of the Beccles Lido Lottery September draw are: 1, �80 to David Henshaw; 2, �40 to Melinda Terry-Wright; 3, �26 to R and G Norgate.

So far 124 tickets have been sold, which with gift aid means nearly �3,000 a year has already been secured.

Lottery applications can be downloaded from www.

beccleslido.com or collected from the Gazette Bookshop, in The Walk, Beccles.