Broken glass closes swimming pool at Bilston-Bert Williams leisure centre
A popular swimming pool has been forced to close for two weeks after a glass bottle smashed into it.
Shards of glass went into the 25 metre pool at WV Active's Bilston-Bert Williams centre when a bottle, mostly covered by a rubber case, smashed on the side of the pool.
The 25m pool is now being drained and is expected to stay shut until next week - although the council-owned centre's studio pool is still available.
WATCH: Why has the pool has been drained?
Sean McBurney, WV Active manager, confirmed a customer dropped a glass bottle onto the poolside during Bilston Swimming Club's training session on March 18.
He said: "A customer at Bilston Swimming Club’s session dropped a glass bottle on poolside which smashed and shards fell into the pool.
"The work to remove the glass started that same night with the lifeguarding team pulling out the larger pieces, but we could not guarantee all shards had been removed which is why the decision to drain the pool was made.
"We expect to be reopening week commencing April 8 but the exact date will not be confirmed until later this week."
Mr McBurney said it takes up to five days just to drain the pool of water before a deep clean is carried out to rid the pool of traces of glass.
He added: "The water must be drained slowly to prevent pool tiles from popping off due to the pressure changes.
"We are also releasing a lot of chemicals into the environment so the water needed to be neutralised and the temperature needed to be dropped before we could start draining.
"This is then followed by a deep clean to ensure all glass has been removed, and we will be taking the opportunity to make a ceiling repair whilst the pool is closed.
"The pool will then take five days to refill, and we will need to ensure the temperature and chemical balance are correct before we can reopen."
Members have been told they will not be offered a refund as alternative arrangements have been put in place.
Customers can use the studio pool at the centre, which is operating a revised timetable, or the pool at Bath Avenue's WV Active Central.
They can also use Wolverhampton Fitness and Swimming Centre at Bentley Bridge for free while the Bilston pool remains closed.
