A DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist will officially open the new £7 million Selby Leisure Centre next month.

Rebecca Adlington, who became the first British athlete to win two gold medals during the 2012 Olympics, will visit the town and will also be holding swimming workshops for children from local schools.

Young swimmers from Selby Tiger Sharks will also be at the opening ceremony, which will be held on Saturday, March 21, where Rebecca will also unveil a commemorative plaque.

Councillor Gillian Ivey, deputy leader of Selby District Council, said: "The new leisure centre is a fantastic addition to Selby and residents should be really proud to have such a first rate facility on their doorstep. I look forward to welcoming Rebecca Adlington to Selby for this special event in our district."

The former Abbey Leisure Centre in Scott Road burned down down two years ago, and the new centre has been built with the aid of £2 million of funding from Sport England.

The new centre opens to the public on March 14, and has two swimming pools, a health and fitness centre with 100 stations of equipment, a class and exercise studio, a synthetic sports pitch, meeting spaces and a sauna and steam room.

Since the previous centre burned down, locals have used Profiles Selby in Portholme Crescent, which is now set to close its doors for the last time on Friday, March 13.

Both centres have been managed by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, and Andy Wiggans from the Trust said the new centre will ensure "Selby is well and truly on the sporting map".

For more information on the new centre, or to find out about membership, go to selbyleisurecentre.org email selbyleisurecentre@wlct.org or phone 01757 213758.