Would YOU splash out on a hot tub?

They used to be the preserve of swingers and Essex boys — now they’re becoming a middle class must-have ...

Eva and anthony ainscoe are looking forward to the onset of winter. ‘In the evening you pour yourself a glass of wine and sit looking up at the stars all lovely and warm. What could be nicer?’ says anthony. Come again? after all, the Ainscoes live near Chorley, Lancashire, which is not known for its year-round sunshine.

Well, earlier this year, retired property developer anthony, 61, and Eva, 59, splashed out £7,000 on a top-of-the-range six-seater hot tub for their beautifully manicured garden.

They’ve taken full advantage of it in the summer — with five grandchildren, aged from six months to five — and are convinced it will come into its own once the temperature plunges.

‘I’ve been in it in the rain and it’s beautiful. Now I’m looking forward to a nice snowfall and sitting there with a drink, looking out over the countryside,’ says anthony. and anthony and Eva are far from alone. For Britain, it seems, has gone hot tub crazy. as many as one in ten homeowners have one, with spas bubbling away everywhere from humble patios to the lawns of sprawling stately homes.

Now the trend is being examined in a new documentary, Hot Tub Britain. It focuses on Britain’s main outdoor retailer, the Hot Tubs Superstore in Blackpool.

Superstore founder Dennis Holmes says he’s on course to sell 2,000 tubs this year, with £50,000 worth of sales on peak days. Prices start at just over £3,000 for a basic model, rising to £20,000 for a 16ft ‘swim spa’ with its own current.

The 57-year-old set up the business in 2003 following several years working in the U.S., where hot tubs have been popular for years.

Mr Holmes says: ‘Hot tubs were big over in the States years ago and I sensed one day they’ll take off in the UK. If your garden isn’t big enough for a swimming pool, then a hot tub is the next best thing. and I was right.’

The surge in popularity, he believes, is down to a change in lifestyle here. ‘Today a lot of people want a more glamorous life and this is a relatively cost-effective way of getting one,’ he says.

But despite its growing popularity, the hot tub is still looked upon with a certain degree of snobbery. No wonder the Superstore’s sales director Ross Phillipson — Dennis’s son-inlaw — is keen to revamp their image. He says: ‘The biggest misconception is that hot tubs are the preserve of swingers, indulgent Premiership footballers or flashy types who live in Essex. In fact, they are bought by anyone and everyone. We recently sold one to a lovely couple in their 80s.

‘another couple in their 70s made a purchase because they go rambling in the Lake District and enjoy a good soak after walking.

‘The only thing typical of each owner is that they have their own home and are over 25.’

Rachel Sturgeon, 34, says she couldn’t live without the hot tub in her compact garden. The stay-athome mum and her engineer husband Damian, 37, had an eight- seater spa installed at their home in Blackpool eight years ago — much to the delight of their children Leon, 12, and Gracie, eight.

‘Damian and I are home birds, we don’t go out. Instead we like to spend time as a family,’ says Rachel. ‘Where nicer to do it than in bubbly hot water?

‘I recommend everyone to get one. These days they’re cheaper than some fridges — and you don’t need a huge garden.’

What you do need is a firm, level base to put it on — preferably wood or concrete rather than lawn, as bare feet covered in soil and grass will make the water dirty, and an outdoor power socket. Management consultant Sally Dickerson, 53, is also a convert. a divorcee, she divides her time between homes in London, the Cotswolds olds and latterly Pembrokeshire, where h she’s bought The Gables, a fivebedroom victorian mansion in angle, which she uses as a holiday home and holiday let.

‘I loved the property as soon as I saw it and then, tucked away in a corner of the garden, I saw an eight-seater hot tub,’ she says. ‘It was a bit of a surprise, but once I got over the shock, I loved it.’

They’re not always stress-free, however. When 42-year-old Simon Parton ordered a £5,000 tub online earlier this year, after pressure from wife Tracey, 41, and their children Ben, 17, Courtney, 14, and ten-yearold abigail, delivery men couldn’t get it into his Birmingham garden.

Mr Parton, a fireman, says: ‘I measured up and was sure we could get it down the side of our house.’

But he failed to account for pipes and a gas meter. When the tub ended up stuck halfway down a side alley, he had to hire a crane for £300 to winch it into place. It was worth it — the family have used the tub almost daily since, and he says a lot of his colleagues want one as well.

So, could keeping up with the Joneses have helped fuel the hot Bubbly: Tracey and Julian Dowler and, inset, Rachel and Damian Sturgeon with Leon and Gracie tub bonanza? Julian and Tracey Dowler make no denial of their motivation for buying one. They installed a £5,000 outdoor whirlpool at their immaculate three-bedroom semi near Rugby, Warwickshire, in 2008 after wedding fair organiser Tracey, 42, experienced ‘hot tub envy’.

She says: ‘We’d stayed with one of Julian’s colleagues for the weekend and they had a tub. We all climbed in together and cracked open the champagne. It was lovely, but I felt a bit jealous.’

The Dowlers have a racy streak: they go au naturel in their tub — thankfully, their garden is not overlooked — stripping off and climbing in most nights after dinner.

‘We’ve got some nice lighting and heat lamps out there and Julian built a lovely african-style wooden hut around it, so it’s very relaxing,’ says Tracey.

all this fun doesn’t exactly come cheap. The most basic model at Hot Tubs Superstore — the Rio — costs £3,293, though most Hot Tubs Superstore customers spend between £4,000 and £8,000.

Then there’s the upkeep. Tubs are much cheap cheaper to operate these days by keeping them warm, w which is more cost e effective. This costs around a pound a day, or £ 30 a month, for an av average household.

YOU also have to buy chlorine and other chemicals to keep them san sanitised, which can cost £30 a year, while new water filters every year or 18 mo months cost £25. a family run running a tub all year rou round would spend £400. B But anthony ainscoe bel believes the cost of his tub was well worth it.

‘W ‘ Watching the grandchil children splashing around is lovely,’ lo he says.

a word of warning: Keeping t tubs meticulously maintain tained is essential to avoid them harbouring harmful bac bacteria, according to Pro Professor Nigel Brown, pres president of the Society for Gen General Microbiology.

Th The water in hot tubs is kept at between 30c and 35c, close to body temperature, and it’s the ideal environment for Legionella bacteria, which causes the potentially fatal lung infection Legionnaires’ disease to flourish.

‘Bacteria grows quickly and if there are any bodily fluids in the tub, such as urine or spittle, it provides nutrients,’ he says.

‘The bubbles from the tub also generate droplets which, when breathed in, can spread Legionella. So you need to keep them very clean. It’s important to drain and refill hot tubs every few months.’

There are other less deadly risks, too, with inadequately sanitised hot tubs causing skin rashes and boils.

These slightly gruesome facts are, of course, unlikely to deter the growing army of outdoor tub fans.

Like it or not, they are fast becoming a feature of the British garden.

HOT Tub Britain, ITV, 9pm, September 9.