IN the 1920s and 1930s around 50 lidos were built in the capital by the then London County Council.

The move was designed to promote healthier lifestyles and to get more Londoners outdoors.

In the 1920s and 1930s people were lucky to get a holiday to Brighton or Southend - so lidos, for most, presented the only chance of swimming in the open air.

But 80 years later lidos no longer play as big a role, although the ones that remain are still popular.

In fact only 12 lidos or outdoor public swimming pools are still standing in London, as people head off to the warmer climes of the Mediterranean and beyond for their summer fun.

One lido stood just off Snaresbrook Road in Leytonstone, near the Hollow Ponds at the southern end of Epping Forest.

Whipps Cross Lido opened on May 7, 1932 and evolved from the old Hollow Ponds bathing pool which was first dug in 1905 and fed by natural springs.

But in the early years of the 20th Century the pool was renowned for its mud and so proved tiresome and, ultimately, unattractive.

In 1932 Leyton and Walthamstow borough councils spent £6,000 to improve conditions for swimming by putting in changing rooms.

In 1937 further work was undertaken to convert the pool into a chemically treated and filtered lido. It was closed, temporarily, years later in 1971 and 1972 but re-opened after a £29,000 refurbishment. But the lido was consigned to the history books - and pages - in September 1982, and finally demolished a year later.

Liz Hughes from the London Pools Campaign, said: "There are several reasons as to why many lidos have closed. People have got used to swimming in warmer water (in heated indoor pools) and there was a time when they generally fell out of favour.

"But the main problem came in the 1980s. Lots of lidos were run by the GLC (Greater London Council). They were then passed to the local authorities but with no revenue budget, so the councils found themselves with an extra cost."

Another local lido now closed was situated in Valentines Park, Ilford.

This lido was opened on August 2, 1924 and cost £5,500, with the help of a £2,140 Government loan, to build.

The lido, ever popular with people from the area and beyond, was sadly closed in 1994 and demolished in 1995 at a cost of £26,000.

It was closed after an unwillingness by the council to pay for long-term repairs at a cost of £250,000.

A petition to save the pool was signed by over 2,000 people and many disgruntled locals remain angry that the lido was closed.

Many local people would also have used the old Larkswood open air pool in Chingford. Situated in New Road, Chingford, this lido was opened on July 28, 1936, costing just over £23,000.

This popular lido almost certainly occupied the largest site for any such facility in the capital, taking up a total of 7.5 acres.

It was closed after the summer of 1987 and replaced a few years later with FantaSeas, a white tent-type swimming complex with slides.

It closed after some serious accidents and ran up debts of £6m within 18 months. It lay derelict for a decade before re-opening as the Larkswood Leisure Centre in 2001.

But on a more positive note, Liz Hughes said the lidos which remain open can still attract large crowds. She said: "It is not all bad. If you go to a lido on a hot day you can queue for up to an hour to get in and there are some positive signs.

"London Fields lido is set to re-open after 20 years and plans for one in Uxbridge are well advanced."

The London Pools Campaign has also earmarked Barking lido as another which has the potential to re-open.