A £15M Olympic-standard Liverpool swimming pool gets the go-ahead today.

Councillors are set to rubber-stamp blueprints for a top-class 50-metre pool on the site of Picton Sports Centre.

It will provide both indoor and outdoor sports facilities and attract more than 500,000 visitors every year.

The pool is expected to be open by September next year and initial work has already begun.

The revised cost now stands at £14.9m, with £4.02m from a Sports Lottery Grant.

Liverpool council is finalising contracts with Gleeson Building to build the pool.

The complex will feature a 50-metre, eight-lane pool with moveable floor, 20-metre, four- lane teaching pool and seating for 400.

Stephen Parry, who won Olympic bronze in Athens, welcomed the news on a visit to the site.