IT'S the closest you will get to a space walk without leaving the planet.

In fact you don't even have to leave Bradford to experience the free-floating freedom that scuba divers rave about.

Bradford Sub-Aqua Club, which is backing Sport England's This Girl Can campaign to get more women and girls to be active, teamed up Megan Judd, 17, who began scuba diving at 12, with the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Joanne Dodds, who is 53 and had never done a dive in her life.

The politician declared herself "quite adventurous" and within minutes was under water in full scuba gear in the pool at Tong High School.

She came up spluttering and admitted it was "quite scary", particularly when she got water in her mouth.

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Megan, one of Britain's youngest scuba diving instructors, reassured the Lord Mayor that breathing under water was indeed "definitely weird".

Mick Barraclough, chairman of the Bradford Sub-Aqua Club, said the Lord Mayor hadt's scored "ten out of ten" for effort on her first dive.

"People say it's just like being weightless, like being an astronaut," he said.

"For me, the best thing about being an instructor is seeing the big grin on people's faces the first time they come out of the water. It's like 'wow' - they are absolutely ecstatic."

Mr Barraclough got into scuba diving many years ago when his son accidentally dropped a gold ring into the canal.

After watching a diving friend try to retrieve the ring, he got into the hobby himself.

"It took us eight years - more than 20 dives - to find the ring."

For first-timers, the feeling of rising panic is normal, he said.

John Barton, an assistant instructor at the club, learned to dive in in Egypt in 2009 and has not looked back.

"Seventy per cent of our planet is water, so why are we not exploring it?" he said.

Younger members of the club are just as enthusiastic. After paying a £100 joining fee - which covers the cost of equipment, including air bottles - they only have to pay £3 for a pool training dive.

Alice Law, 14, of Queensbury, is one of six Bradford girls of similar age who are training for their basic scuba qualification.

Her first dive was "exciting and scary at the same time".

After six lessons and a theory test they get to dive at a flooded quarry in Morecambe.

Back in the pool, the Lord Mayor's first lesson was nearly over.

Although she is a keen swimmer and thinks of herself as quite adventurous, she wouldn't commit to a return visit.

"It is a bit scary. I got some water in my mouth, I was that frightened. I'm not sure I would do it again."

But her advice to other women and girls is simple: "They have got to go for it."