Iconic Plymouth lido has to close on one of its busiest days due to vandalism
A lido named as one of the most 'Instagrammable' outdoor pools in the world has had to close on one of its busiest days after it was hit by vandals.
In a post on its Facebook page, staff said, "Due to vandalism, Tinside Lido will be closed until further notice we will keep you all updated the best we can."Sorry for any inconvenience caused - Team Tinside."
An unknown number of people broke into Tinside lido in Plymouth after it had shut on the evening of Thursday 3 June, and, in the words of duty manager Harry Roberts, "trashed it."
A diver goes into the water first thing every day to check everything is safe before swimmers are allowed in and confirmed there was too much glass in the pool to deal with.
Harry Roberts said: "It looks Budweiser and vodka bottles were thrown from above and smashed on the concrete fountain in the middle. We've got to make sure it is safe before we can reopen.
"It makes me feel very angry. I have been here 13 years and have worked my fingers to the bone to get it up and running."
The seawater pool is being drained and then the glass will be picked out individually, the surfaces jetwashed and then refilled on the high tide. Draining the pool alone will take hours as the chlorine has to be neutralised and other procedures need to be followed.
Julian Egan, contract manager at Everyone Active, which runs the pool, said: “Unfortunately during pre-opening safety checks this morning, our duty manager at Tinside Lido found broken glass bottles in the pool and on the sun deck which meant we could not open the lido as normal at 10am.
"Due to the nature of the incident, the pool needs to undergo drainage, cleaning and refilling processes which can take up to 48 hours.
“We will reopen Tinside Lido as soon as it is safe to do so and encourage everyone to keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for further updates.”
Everyone Active has confirmed that Tinside lido will open on Sunday 6 June at 10 am but the closure has disappointed hundreds of locals and holidaymakers at a time when the weather is perfect for an open-air dip.
Harry said: "The weather is glorious. All three sessions a day have been fully booked with lots of tourists too."
The art deco lido was built in 1935, and is Grade II listed. The salt water swimming pool is only open during the summer so has to make every day count.
Harry added vandalism and people sitting around drinking have become a common problem in the area. "There is vandalism nearly every night of the week. This (incident at the pool) may make people sit up and think."
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