A GIANT inflatable was greeted with squeals of delight from surprised youngsters at Portishead Open Air Pool.

The pirate ship with water slide, was trialled last week and provided extra summer fun for visitors to the sea front lido.

Pool spokesman Barbara Thatcher said: “Additional lifeguards were on hand to make sure there were no mishaps and the children had a wonderful time scaling the sides and trying to stay upright on the wobbling decks.”

The inflatable was the idea of pool trustee Brenda Birkinshaw, who confirmed the trial was a roaring success and would be repeated on a regular basis next year.

Poor weather meant a shaky start for the 2011 season at the pool and visitor numbers were reported to be down on last year.

However, the rise in temperatures as the school summer holidays got underway saw the number of visitors rise dramatically and trustees say attendance figures now compare favourably with last year’s.

Information about the pool can be found at www.portisheadopenairpool.org.uk