Hundreds of residents have backed a campaign to reopen a paddling pool which was closed because of vandalism.

The pool at Brooklands Pleasure Ground in Worthing will be shut for the first summer in 38 years.

Worthing Borough Council says it cannot guarantee the safety of the children who use it.

But customers have signed petitions in primary schools and a cafe near the pool, condemning its closure.

Campaigner Heidi Copeland, 32, of Brook Way, Lancing, said: "We've got hundreds of signatures."

Mrs Copeland, a midwife, has used the pool since she was a toddler and planned to take children Zac, four and Dylan, 18-months, this summer.

She told us it was an invaluable asset and well-used.

John Thorpe, the council's assistant director of leisure and community services, said: "Vandals and other people throw glass and obstacles into the water.

"It's not possible for us to supervise it on a daily basis, so it's not safe to use.

"Another problem is that people continually feed the swans and wildfowl on the lake, which then leads to rats getting into the pool."