Hunt on for mystery pool pooer

A New Zealand pool has lost tens of thousands in revenue after a mystery pooper has pooped in the pool five Fridays in a row.

Invercargill’s Splash Palace has lost tens of thousands in revenue after a mystery pooper has pooped in the pool five Fridays in a row.

On one particularly bad night three weeks ago, poo was found in three of the complex’s pools, Fairfax has reported.


"They did one in the leisure pool and we moved the kids to the learners' pool, and they did one in the learners' pool and we moved the kids to the main pool, and one appeared in the main pool, so we had to shut the whole thing down,” city council aquatic services manager Pete Thompson said.

"In one of those pools was diarrhoea ... that was unfortunate."

Each time faeces is found in the water the pool must be closed for six hours for cleaning.

It is unclear if one or more culprits are involved, but Thompson said pool staff were closing in on the offenders, Fairfax reported.

“It generally happens after 5pm each Friday night. There are certain sports groups that use the facility at that time of day,” Fairfax reported him saying.

Thompson said they would have to prove the poos were deliberate in order to claim compensation.

"If we do manage to, dare I say, catch someone in the act, we will seek compensation,” Thompson said.

News break – March 17