Council report says assault on lifeguard at Gore Aquatic Centre was 'harrowing'

A report from the Gore District Council into an assault on a lifeguard at the Gore Aquatic Centre by a patron on 16th April has described the incident as ‘’harrowing”,

Reporting on the incident which saw the female lifeguard held her under the water for about 10 seconds, Council Human Resources Manager, Susan Jones described how the patron tackled one of the lifeguards into the leisure pool at the facility.

Tabled at a Council meeting last week, the report advised “understandably, this left our staff member extremely distressed and resulted in the pool being put into lock down as the police were called to deal with the incident.’’

The report, which advised that the staff member suffered some injuries and sought medical attention, noted that she has since returned to work and is being supported by colleagues and the council organisation.

It added “the incident has been described as harrowing. The procedures for an incident such as this were implemented and worked very well which was a credit to the Aquatic Services Manager and other staff on duty at the time.

“This incident would be the worst inflicted on a council staff member.’’

A man is facing charges in relation to the incident, and he is expected to appear in the Gore District Court on 7th July.

Image shows the Gore Aquatic Centre. Image used for illustrative purposes only.