MEMBERS of a fitness class held at Prudhoe Waterworld say they feel short changed after a string of last minute cancellations.

Evelyn Robinson is among a group of women from the town who regularly attend the Active Northumberland-run leisure centre’s aquafit sessions and saw their monthly membership rise from £18 to £32 on November 1.

But just weeks after her exercise fees doubled, Mrs Robinson says she and others turned up on five separate occasions to be told their classes were cancelled due to a lack of instructors.

“It started the week before Christmas and affected things right through the holiday period,” said Mrs Robinson, who is in her 70s and has been a Waterworld member since 2005.

“At least eight people turned up for the class on December 28 and were told we would just have to have a swim instead.”

Mrs Robinson, who does the classes three times a week, contacted customer services and sent a three-page letter of complaint, but her concerns were never acknowledged.

She is the latest Active Northumberland member to contact the Courant since the organisation introduced its new pricing structure, which is aimed at making memberships fairer across the board, but left many people in Tynedale facing huge price hikes.

“I just feel when there are that many people turning up for a class and being let down, we deserve an explanation.”

“It’s more important than ever to provide a good service when the prices have been increased.”

Lorraine Dewison, chief executive of Active Northumberland, said: “We would like to apologise to Evelyn in relation to the issues she has experienced relating to the Aquafit programme over the Christmas period.

“The instructor was unavailable to teach the fitness class because of family illness.

“A duty manager personally informed customers of the situation on the day and explained that the scheduled aquafit classes would only be swim sessions during the festive period.

“Our leisure centre manager has already written to Evelyn to apologise and to reassure her that the issues she has experienced have nothing to do with recent pricing policy.”