Drains clogged up with hair, overflowing nappy bins and dirty toilets were just some of the horrors a mum says she encountered at a swimming pool.

Helen Bird says she has made “countless complaints” to Tenterden Leisure Centre about poor hygiene standards but says her complaints were not even acknowledged.

The mum-of-two, whose young children go for swimming lessons at the centre, said: “While the quality of the lessons is not in question, the standard of hygiene is.

“The centre is supposed to undergo a regular deep clean but there is no evidence of it and I know lots of mums have made complaints about it being dirty.

“No one seems to be listening as there have been no improvements so I decided to take my own photos to show what the conditions are like.”

The pictures also show dirty and broken tiles, a filthy sink, a ventilation shaft caked in dust and a plaster and swimwear hygiene strip stuck to the walls.

Helen, 37, who pays £36 a month for her children to use the centre, said: “It’s not OK to have overflowing nappy bins that stink and cobwebs everywhere. It’s grimy and there’s mould all over the showers.

“They [staff] are not registering that it is disgusting and we are paying a lot of money to use the venue. A basic standard of hygiene is a must at a swimming pool.”

Another mum of three children, who is a regular at the pool, says she spotted human waste by the flume when swimming lessons were taking place.

She alerted the instructor and two teenage lifeguards were dispatched to deal with the incident.

The 35-year-old, who described the standard of hygiene as “revolting” in the last questionnaire issued by the centre, said: “The lifeguards came out and began arguing over who would clean up the mess, with one saying that he was about to go off his shift so shouldn’t have to do it.

“Eventually they brought a broom and a mop out but it looked like they were scrubbing it into the floor rather than washing it away.

"At that point I felt so disgusted that I decided that I couldn’t watch anymore and I got up and left the pool area.”

Leisure centre manager Craig King said: “Cleanliness and hygiene is a top priority at Tenterden Leisure Centre.

“Incidents like this are extremely rare and I’m sorry that on this occasion, it seems we have fallen short.

“We run annual customer surveys and of 140 completed throughout April only two mentioned cleaning and one of these commented on how it had improved.

“We also engage with a company to conduct mystery visits and scores have been consistently high.

“I also want to reassure customers that we have monthly independent testing of our pool water to ensure it is safe.

“If the customer would like to contact me direct, I would be happy to address any issues personally.”