A Swindon Council official has refuted any idea of the town's two major sports and leisure centre's being shut.

Staff at the centres and users will have been thrown into uncertainty at Evening Advertiser front page reports in late March that closure was a serious proposal.

One of several options in a report to the council's leisure services committee was a suggestion that the centres could be replaced by one facility. However this has been put before councillors in an annual review of recreation strategy every March for the last three years.

Head of Recreation Services Rob Whitehouse confirmed that the council's recreation provision is reviewed annually and there were no new revelations in the discussion about the future of the centres.

"The publicity given to a negative option does not match the evidence, considering the investments we are making in the Oasis and Link Centres."

The Oasis is 26 years old and is used by 700,000 people annually. A £250,000 gym costing opened at Link Centre in November and usage is exceeding all expectations. A new climbing wall has just been installed.