The head of Greenwich's major chain of public leisure facilities says the Government needs to act soon to rescue the sector. 

Mark Sesnan, chief executive of Greenwich Leisure Limited, spoke out after facilities were left out of the list of businesses set to reopen on July 4.

While the chain's 11,000 staff have been supported by the furlough scheme, the need to cover additional costs has required the organisation to dig into its cash reserves.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "I think there is a big danger that if this goes on much longer, the light at the end of the tunnel was to be able to open from July 6 - someone has just switched that light off.

"They need to turn it back on again fairly quickly if we are to avoid the kind of cataclysm because there is no money coming in and the expenses are still going out.

"The furlough scheme is great and we thank the Chancellor for that but staff is only half our costs.

"At the moment, it is still rescue-able but much longer and I think the country will have a problem nationwide with public facilities struggling to ever reopen."

GLL, operating under the brand "Better", runs over 250 sport and leisure facilities and libraries on behalf of local authorities in London and across the UK.