It’s a Christmas miracle! The London Fields lido will reopen two weeks today, the town hall has announced.

Just 261 days after it was announced that it would be closing for a couple of months, the popular pool will reopen for business.

It closed in April for urgent repairs to its crumbling tiles. It was mooted to reopen in “late summer” – then on September 30.

Since then the date has been pushed back twice while the contractors fix “defects” in the work.

Community services boss Cllr Jon Burke said: “I’d like to thank Lido users for their patience over the last few months, and apologise again for the delay. It’s been a very frustrating process, and whilst there are still snagging items and some quality issues to address, I’m pleased the contractors have finally completed the work. Now that the essential works to the pool have been completed, swimmers will also benefit from improved facilities throughout the Lido, including refurbished changing rooms and extra showers and lockers.”

Lido users who kept their membership throughout the closure will automatically receive one month’s free membership in January.