Courtesy SwimNews

Leading Commonwealth nations are likely to stage an alternative swim meet somewhere in the Middle East or Asia should the Commonwealth Games in Delhi be cancelled because of poor conditions.

The Games are due to unfold October 3-14. Hours after England gave warning that it would need to see plumbing, lighting and other issues, including cleanliness and functioning toilets, sorted out at the Athletes' Village before the first of its teams arrives in Delhi tomorrow, Jan Cameron New Zealand high performance manager told Radio Sport back home that leading swim federations would move quickly to stage an alternative international meet if they had to.

Cameron, her team bound for camp in Abu Dhabi, said: "I think the Australians are in Singapore, the British are in Doha, the Canadians are in Singapore as well," she said. "We can all talk to each other.

Should it eventuate, we will act quickly." Preparations for the Commonwealth Games have been plagued by problems, some of them because of monsoon weather. Delays on construction of venues is everywhere to be seen, according to international agency reports, there have been allegations of corruption, concerns remain over the condition of the Athletes' Village and the spectre of terror threats is never far away in a week in which two tourists were gunned down in Delhi.

Two world champions from track and field athletes yesterday decided enough was enough and withdrew from the Games.

However, some have taken a different view over conditions and security. "We've all got our mosquito nets and we're all going to be packing our pillows," former world 50m butterfly champion Geoff Huegill (AUS) told AAP.

"I think we have to remember, while we are used to staying in some pretty nice, high-rise places, India is still classed as a third-world country. So to them what might seem really adequate might not be as adequate or at the level we think so I think for us as athletes, we don't want to show any disrespect to them."