Vandals strike again at £18.6m Bert Williams Centre in Bilston

The centre has now been hit 11 times since it opened in December 2011, causing around £50,000 of damage.

Police recently installed extra CCTV and increased patrols around the site, but the vandals have not been deterred.

Council bosses said the latest vandalism was "very disappointing" and police have pledged to explore future options to prevent further incidents.

During the latest spate pellet guns were used on four occasions, causing windows to be boarded up.

Just last month eight large panes of glass were replaced with reinforced glass and an additional protective film layer.

Ward councillor Bert Turner called the vandals "a disgrace".

He added: "It's an absolutely marvellous facility but we've got this element that see it as a bit of fun to damage it.

"We need to catch them and we're doing our best to make sure that we do.

"It's absolutely disgraceful and the parents of these youths need to be asking why their kids are going out with pellet guns."

Previous incidents had been spread evenly over the past 10 months, so five in the space of four weeks represents a sharp increase.

Rob Willoughby, Wolverhampton City Council's assistant director for communities, said security had been strengthened at the centre.

He urged anyone with information about the vandalism to contact police.

Mr Willoughby added: "The vandalism which has occurred at the Bert Williams Leisure Centre is very disappointing, not just to us but also to the centre's users and the people of Bilston who are enjoying this fantastic new facility."

Police are exploring future options with the council to protect the building from future attacks.

Spokesman Lee Page said: "Police are investigating five instances of criminal damage at the Bert Williams Leisure Centre in the last month which has caused damage to large panes of glass, four of which were as a result of pellets being fired."

Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.