A HEREFORD swimming club has made a splash on the regional scene during the opening round of its latest league campaign.

The City of Hereford Swimming Club narrowly missed out on top spot as their National Arena Swimming League's West Midlands Premier Division campaign began in Birmingham.

Head coach Alex Dallimore said it was the best team performance he'd seen from the squad.

Hereford came up against five clubs who all finished above them last year, but it was only hosts Boldmere who bettered their performance this time around.

Leading the way for Hereford was Calypso Harvey who got the gala off to a fine start in her racing debut for Hereford having recently joined from Ledbury.

She excelled in the girls 200 metre individual medley with a strong third place finish.

Patrick Blake, meanwhile, continued the club's fine form by winning the men's medley before suffering two debatable disqualifications in his favoured backstroke events.

James Casewell, another recent recruit, demonstrated his promise in the 11 year-old's age group, taking victory in the 50 metre breaststroke.

Other race winners included England Talent Squad members Harriet Aldous-Fountain, Nathan Wallace and James Bilbao, along with National Finalist Hugo Lemar and ten year-old Makayla Garcia.

The quality of depth in the team was reinforced with dominant victories for the Under 13s boys medley relay team of Pierre Oosthuizen, Tom Watkins, Bilbao and Wallace, and the under 11s medley team of Josh Gough, Casewell, Angus Martin and Theo Lind.

Hereford's second-placed finish saw them ahead of Leamington Spa, Bilston, Stourbridge and Abingdon.

Head Coach Alex Dallimore said: "(it was) a great effort from all of our swimmers.

"Our younger swimmers showed great skill and race craft, while our older guys led from the front. Without doubt the best team performance I have seen from our squad."