The break-ins and vandalism are happening on a regular basis meaning each morning the life guards arrive to work, anxious to discover what awaits. There have been five incidents in the past week, with Saturday night’s attack leaving staff disgusted and annoyed.

Staff arrived at the pool Sunday morning to find the pool fence damaged and faeces left on the change room floor. This is not the first time vandals have defecated in the grounds.

Pool supervisor, Garry Smith is frustrated with the vandalism and brake-ins and is concerned for the safety of his staff cleaning up the mess.

The culprits have gained entry to the facility through the fence often coming with tools to cut through the wire.

“We keep repairing the fence and they keep cutting it,” Garry said.

Large rubbish bins and other contaminates have been thrown into the pool causing the staff to close the facility to the public a number of times to treat the water. Alcohol cans, clothing and shoes have been left on the grounds.

The kiosk has also been broken into recently with crowbars and bolt cutters used to gain entry.

“We had secured the kiosk to what we thought was reasonably vandal proof, but it’s not the case,” Garry said.

The police attended the scene, but with nothing appearing to be missing in the kiosk, it’s thought the culprits were unsuccessful in finding money.

The staff at the pool is worried expensive and vital rescue equipment like the defibrillator and water testing equipment, worth thousands of dollars could be vandalised or stolen during a break-in.

Garry said it’s only a matter of time before one of his staff is injured cleaning up, or the vandals themself are injured breaking into or swimming in the pool.

Garry explained that if this continues or if any major damage occurs, Greater Taree City Council may reconsider keeping the pool open due to extra expenditure on vandalism not budgeted for.

The main problem with the constant vandalism is the extra costs from additional chlorine and fixing fences.

“It’s totally frustrating, but there’s not a lot we can do about it,” Garry said.

He has been in discussions with management about installing security cameras at the facility.

A pool patron recently reported seeing 10-12 people mingling out the front of the pool when they drove past late one night.

Garry said the community needs to be aware of what’s going on.

“If one of the culprits is caught, it might be a deterrent to the rest,” he said.