Training classes are being offered at York Hall, as part of a national swimming challenge.

British Gas launched SwimBritain with the aim of encouraging 500,000 more people to swim regularly by 2015. As part of the programme the leisure centre in Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, is running swimming classes on Monday and Tuesday mornings.

The sessions will be followed by a team relay event at London Fields lido in Hackney in late September.

The relays are designed for teams of four and are aimed at both children and adults.

The SwimBritain challenge consists of a relay in 250m legs. Each team member swims four legs, 1,000m in total, to reach the team goal of 4000m.

Little SwimBritain is a relay in 125m legs for families and children aged between eight and 16. Each team must include at least one adult. Each team member swims four legs, 500m total, to reach the team goal of 2000m.

Each SwimBritain participant is offered four coaching sessions and online training material.

Visit www.swimbritain.co.uk/signup to sign up. Fees range from £10 to £29.