IF you were asked to guess when you thought this photograph might have been taken, it’s likely the answer might surprise you.

This was Bacup Baths in 1980 taken shortly before it closed down.

To many people of a certain age, this picture will be very familiar. Most East Lancashire towns had their own baths - all of a very similar design. There were the changing rooms around the pools itself, the tiled walls and the high windows.

The Bacup pool was relatively modest - as was its deep end, at just five feet six. Some baths such as the one in Accrington had more changing rooms on the balcony as well as seating for parents.

Then there was the pool of disinfectant you had to wade on your way into the pool.

For generations of East Lancashire schoolchildren a weekly trip to the baths with school was part of the normal routine and often involved queuing up outside early in the morning.