A ROW over a £1,000 cheque left 300 swimmers ordered out of the water.

The bemused members of the Ramsbottom Rascals Swimming Club were not covered by insurance after the club failed to meet a deadline over increased fees to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA).

The Rascals were one of 60 clubs nationwide who had not paid the extra charges imposed by the ASA because of a reduction in cash from Sport England, after swimmers at the Sydney Olympics flopped.

The new rules meant that all swimmers learning to swim, including toddlers, would have to pay a £3 registration fee, as well as, bizarrely, members of club committees.

Established swimmers already pay a £16 ASA fee, but the lesser charge covers all swimmers, whether competing in competitions or not.

As soon as the ASA informed Rascals' officials, training sessions had to be cancelled for four days from last Friday, because the suspended club's insurance was invalid.

Rascals' chairman Bob Heys told the Bury Times: "This is basically a tax on young swimmers.

"Our gripe is not that there is this new rule, but the big stick approach by the ASA.

"We had no choice but to cancel the training sessions and we apologise to our members, but we had no choice because we were not covered by insurance.

"Given that 60 clubs throughout the country were affected by this, you would have thought the ASA could have had a more flexible approach.

"Our big problem was that we could not collect the extra money quickly enough, but once the club was suspended a cheque for £1,000 to cover the additional registration fees was sent off immediately.

"Hopefully this mix-up won't have affected our training scheduled too much."