Sussex councils have been accused of “denying their residents the chance to swim” for failing to sign up to a national scheme to give children and older people free entry to local pools.

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said more than 20 million people aged over 60 and under 16 would benefit from the Government’s Swimming Challenge Fund and hit out at the six local authorities in the county that had chosen not to participate.

They are Worthing, Adur, Mid Sussex, Crawley, Horsham and Arun.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it expected the two-year fund, backed by £140 million from central government, would cover “the majority” of participating authorities’ costs when it starts next April.

However, local authorities that turned down the scheme said yesterday they feared the funding would not have been enough to compensate for the revenue lost from allowing so many people to use their pools free.

A spokeswoman for Adur and Worthing councils said: “The grant for the cost of free swimming for the over 60s would have been unlikely to cover the loss of income and additional costs incurred by the councils.”

Gordon Marples, leader of Mid Sussex District Council, said: “The council would have faced a potential £350,000 shortfall, which is equivalent to an increase of about 4% in our element of council tax.”

A spokesman for Crawley Borough Council said the scheme would have left the authority “significantly out of pocket”, adding: “There are no guarantees that the funding will continue after the initial two years by which time costs could have risen significantly.”

But Crawley MP Laura Moffatt said: “I can’t help but feel this is very short-sighted.”

Four councils – Hastings, Rother, Eastbourne and Wealden – agreed to offer free swimming to the over 60s only, while Brighton and Hove, Chichester and Lewes agreed to sign up to the scheme in full.

David Smith, Brighton and Hove recreation councillor, said: “Being a seaside city, it’s very important that children learn to swim.”