Big Splash, a new campaign designed to increase the number of people swimming and help improve the nation's health, has been launched by British Swimming and the BBC.

The initiative aims to encourage the UK's existing 13 million swimmers and inspire more to take up the sport, as well as helping to improve water safety and save lives. It is believed that a fifth of adults are currently unable to swim, while a fifth of children leave primary school without being able to swim - two statistics that Big Splash aims to change.

British Swimming chief executive David Sparkes said: "The Big Splash is part of our ongoing drive to increase the participation in swimming. It's got fantastic health benefits and it saves lives. "Working with the pools and the BBC, we expect to see many more people getting active as we move towards the greatest sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games, coming to London next year."