LEISURE centres saw 17,000 more people taking part in sport in September than they did during the same time last year.

A year on from taking over from Braintree Council, Fusion Lifestyle has reported an large increase in the overall visitor numbers to the district’s leisure centres when compared with the same month in 2012.

Visitor numbers for typically hard to reach groups, such as disabled users, under 16s and over 55s, also increased by up to 82 per cent.

Councillor Jo Beavis, Cabinet Member with responsibility for leisure, said: “This is really just a snap shot of where we are compared to last year, but I am very pleased to see such a large increase in the number of people participating in sport and physical activity.

"Fusion deserve credit for the improvements they have made to what we offer.

“This is also in no small part thanks to the success of last year’s Olympic games.

"On a local level I think we have tapped into the increased interest in sport it generated, and backed up by the investment being made into our leisure centres, we are seeing real progress.”