Historic lido in Cornwall targeted by vandals for third time in a month

The open air pool is run by the community who are 'disappointed and disheartened' by the vandalism. Credit: ITV West Country

A historic lido in Penzance has been attacked by vandals for the third time in a month.

Jubilee Pool was built in 1935 and is now run by the community for the community - who are shocked by the vandalism.

Richard James from the Jubilee Pool said: "It's really disappointing because the team have put so much in over the past 18 months to make sure the pool is there.

"We work very hard at the pool to provide something for the local community and it's very disheartening that people want to disrupt that. If anyone has any more information, please contact us confidentially via our Facebook page so we can pass it along to the police."

Staff at Jubilee Pool say it seemed that the vandals were intent on causing as much mess as possible. Credit: Jubilee Pool

The pool was broken into on the night of Wednesday 14 July. Equipment was thrown on the ground and glass was broken. Nothing was taken except for a few cans and packets of crisps but hot chocolate powder was spilled and water poured over it.

Richard James said: "Their main aim was to create as much mess as possible - which they achieved."

The cost of the damage is still being assessed. The team do not know if they will be able to repair the equipment or have to replace it.

Cleaning up the broken glass proved particularly tricky in a barefoot environment. Credit: Jubilee Pool

It took three or four people a number of hours to clean up the mess. They had to be particularly careful when clearing up the broken glass - going over the floor three times to make sure none of it was left. Fortunately it happened away from the pool area so they did not need to close altogether.

Richard James said: "On this occasion, we were lucky. Their actions could have meant a three or four day closure, which would have been a disappointment to a lot of people during the hot weather."

In a message on the Jubilee Pool Facebook page the team said: "We’re very sad to report that for the third time in as many weeks, Jubilee Pool has been subject to vandalism and damage. It’s soul destroying that there are people who will stoop as low as to break in solely to inflict damage especially given that the pool belongs to the local community.

"People have invested their time and hard-earned money to save this pool and it’s so dispiriting that there are others out there who want to damage it."

It took three or four people several hours to clean up the damage. Credit: Jubilee Pool

One of the previous incidents took place on 7 July, after England beat Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-finals. An unknown number of people threw bottles over into the lido from the main road. The pool had to be closed for a day while the glass was removed and thorough checks were carried out.

The first incident took place earlier in July when vandals broke in and walked across the geothermal pool cover, causing damage.

Police came in following the latest break in and have taken away what they described as 'strong forensic evidence'.

Work will now take place to improve security at the popular lido. Credit: Jubilee Pool

There is CCTV at the pool and security guards respond when the alarm goes off.

The team is going to work with them over the next few days to see how the system can be improved.