Membership numbers across East Devon’s leisure centres have returned to pre-Covid levels.

Leisure East Devon (LED), the firm that runs the centres on behalf of the local authority, had 10,247 members at the end of March, meaning numbers are now back where they were before the pandemic.

LED’s Andrew Dare said net figures are also continuing to grow, meaning the number of people joining outweighed the number leaving.

Exmouth Leisure Centre leads the way out of LED’s 17 sites across the district, with 4,300 members.

Elsewhere, LED said group exercise is rising, bolstered by virtual classes which allow people to exercise from their own homes.

In February, there were 1,120 monthly indoor classes, attended by 15,700 people, and 1,003 participants engaged in virtual classes.

LED won four awards at the National Member Experience Awards run by TRP, including Most Improved Member Experience – Leisure Trusts UK, and Best Swimming Pool Member Experience at Sidmouth Swimming Pool.