More than half of British mothers have been put off teaching their own child to swim – due to a fear of being seen in a bathing suit.

The lack of body confidence among British mums – and the resulting reluctance to hit the pool – is having a potentially disastrous effect on the swimming ability of the next generation, with 38 per cent of mums admitting that their child couldn’t be described as a ‘strong swimmer’.

The figures come from a new report by leisure centre operator Everyone Active, which surveyed 1,000 mothers across the UK.

Other findings from the report include that a quarter (27 percent) of mums said they can’t remember the last time they went for a swim.

Double Olympic champion swimmer Becky Adlington – a long-time advocate of family swimming – said: “It is such a shame seeing these statistics.

“As a woman I understand it, but more definitely needs to be done to help and encourage women to feel more confident. Swimming is an amazing sport with so many health benefits and for kids it's even more important with it being a life skill.”

A potential remedy could be women-only swimming sessions. One of these female-only programmes is currently being trialled by Everyone Active, as part of efforts to encourage women and mothers to feel more comfortable and confident while swimming.

Jacqui Tillman, group swim manager for Everyone Active, said: “In an age obsessed with body perfection, we actively support and encourage the celebration of women of all body shapes and welcome them to our women only swim sessions if they feel more comfortable surrounded by other women, and can attend in whatever they feel happy swimming in.”