An investigation into a major chemical leak at a Fife swimming pool has found several breaches of health and safety legislation.

The incident at East Sands Leisure Centre in St Andrews left five children and 14 adults suffering breathing problems and requiring medical treatment on August 25 last year.

A pool storage tank failed because it was "unsuitable", causing the uncontrolled release of sodium hypochlorite, according to a report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The investigation found the storage tank was not strong enough to handle the loads contained in it, was of poor quality and did not have a suitable support structure, resulting in more rapid failure.

Evidence the tank had been leaking "for some time" was missed because the tank was too large for the room, meaning three sides of the tank could not be inspected.

The report said: "It should have been recognised by Fife Council, the trust and CMM Pools Ltd that it was not possible to properly inspect the tank."

It also said the bund, a protective wall for the storage tank, was in a poor state of maintenance and was no longer capable of holding any "significant quantity" of chemicals.

The council-owned facility, run by Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, has been ordered to carry out a number of safety improvements by HSE.

The tank has since been removed and will not be replaced, and the centre is switching to calcium hypochlorite, a tablet form of chlorine disinfectant, at the end of the year.

In the meantime, the risk of another spill is being minimised by having the sodium hypochlorite stored in smaller quantities.

Alan Paul, senior manager for property services, said: "I would like to reassure leisure centre users and local people that our pools are safe.

"Having carried out a cost, risk and benefit analysis we decided to change all pools to a different system that uses calcium hypochlorite, which is safer to store and, overall, the system is more cost effective to operate and maintain.

"Work is ongoing to convert the sites and some are already running on the new system and no facilities now store sodium hypochlorite in bulk.

"We'll share our experience of the conversion with lead bodies in the industry and keep HSE informed of our progress."

Similar installations at four other leisure centre facilities, Beacon, Levenmouth, Bowhill and Cupar are also being altered.