More than £40,000 has now been raised towards reopening Falmouth's leisure centre Ships & Castles after an extended target was reached with still a week to go.

On Friday it was announced that a Crowdfunder begun by Pendennis Leisure - a group set up to see the facilitates reopen and the land they are on retained for the community - had been supported by its 450th donator, tipping the total over its 'stretch' funding target of £40,000.

Matthew Thomson, who began the fundraiser for Pendennis Leisure, said: "Again our Crowd has astonished us - thank you.

"It's amazing how what began as a tentative request for donations early last month to help us move forward in our campaign with a £10k pot, has, thanks to your incredible support, evolved over the last seven weeks into a movement to not just reclaim Ships & Castles for the community, but to remodel it to make it more useful and accessible for more people in the future.

"The astonishing breadth and depth of your generosity has triggered not just one but two really significant grants from Power to Change and Sport England which will stand us in good stead as we plan for the capital works needed to operate Ships & Castles."

Earlier this week it was revealed SPORT England had agreed to match fund by £10k, but only if Falmouth could prove it had backing from not only the community but also local businesses in the way of Crowdfunder ‘rewards’.

Many came forward to offer support, including The Cornish Bank, Bango Kitchen, Seasalt Cornwall, The Aussie Smoker, Sessions Surf and Skate Shop, INDIdog and Finisterre, helping push the fundraising over the £40k mark.

Matthew added: "The fabulous rewards donated by local businesses in Falmouth and Penryn have flown off the digital shelf. A few remain if you fancy a browse - and some unexpected and massively generous supporters have stepped forward. Meur raus! ['Thank you' in Cornish]"

One important aspect of the project that it is hoped can now become reality is introducing 25m lanes to the pool, to make it better suited for serious swimming as well as having fun.

Pendennis Leisure said it had been told by local head teachers that around 90% of eight-year-olds in the area cannot even tread water for 30 seconds currently, let alone swim, due to all swimming lessons being stopped during the Covid pandemic - and now there is no longer a public pool.

The group said: "We are a coastal town surrounded by water - Cornwall has the highest numbers of drownings per mile of coastline in the country.

"This is why it is so important that we get Ships & Castles back open as soon as possible."

Some of the extra money raised will go toward the cost of redesigning the pool to include 25m lengths, as well as contribute to recommissioning the pool and helping employ a coordinator to oversee the project.

The group has also said there is "a lot to do" in terms of replacing missing equipment, servicing the remaining equipment and expert surveys, among a long list of expenses.

Currently the group's ambition is to try and reopen the pool in 2023.

However, it said: "We won't be rushing to spend any extra funds you give us - we will use them to help lever extra funding from other sources, making the most of every penny."

Now, with just six days left until the fundraiser cut-off on November 25, the group is hoping for one last push to get as much money as possible and hit an extra stretch target of £45,000.

Donations can still be made at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ships-castles

As Matthew pointed out yesterday: "Vital as the funds raised are to our cause, this Crowdfunder has been about much more than money. It's been about hope and daring to dream - it's been about connecting and community building - about trusting and sharing - it's truly awesome what we can do together."

The leisure centre was closed earlier this year by Cornwall Council after the previous operator GLL said it could no longer afford to run it and the council's cabinet said there were not enough funds to keep it open.

However, the council agreed in July that it would not sell the site for six months, to allow the Falmouth community to work up a bid to take it over and run it themselves.