Incidents at Linslade’s Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre where staff were injured still being investigated

And a probe into how four staff members were injured in October 2018 after being forced to move heavy pool cover is also yet to be concluded, Central Beds Council has stated this week.

The LBO asked for an update after several sources contacted us claiming staff had now left the company in the fallout of the incidents and that individuals injured were suing the council and its leisure operator Stevenage Leisure Ltd – neither the council or SLL would confirm this.

With the pool cover incident, the LBO was originally contacted by five separate sources, who all claimed that the young employees were “ordered” to get into the pool and push back the covering because its electric motor had broken. It was alleged that the task meant all four staff members needed medical treatment, with one sustaining a broken collar bone.

With the suspected chemical incident, several sources told us staff were authorised to purchase a chemical tablet from a garden centre, with one staff member then instructed to mix it with another chemical. This allegedly caused a gas vapour to build up in the tank located in the plant room of the swimming pool. When two members of staff carried out their routine plant rooms checks, they are said to have been exposed to the vapour and hospitalised.

A spokesman for Central Beds Council said: “We take the health and safety of both our staff and the public very seriously, and are currently fully investigating the alleged incidents. We cannot comment further at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.”

SLL added: “It is not our policy to comment on internal processes.”