A GROUP of young men who 'broke into' a water park in Poole overnight have been condemned for their stunt, which ‘could have resulted in tragedy’.

The five thrillseekers, who filmed their antics and posted the video to YouTube, sneaked into Splashdown at Tower Park just after 2am on Tuesday.

After climbing over a barbed wire security fence, they managed to get inside the water park. They launched themselves down the flumes, without any regard for their safety, and often had only a torch to light their way through the pitch black.

After first entering the park, one of the group even admits on video: “This is getting out of hand”. However, the men spend the next three hours having a go on the rides and manage to avoid getting caught. Afterwards, one of the group shows off an injury he suffered during the stunt.

However, Splashdown’s owners discovered the break-in later that day and contacted the police.

Jackie Richmond, co-owner and group marketing director, said a “thorough review of security” had been carried out following the incident, as well as a check of “all on-site facilities”.

“Whilst the people who broke in and used the premises without permission thought it would be a laugh, they are very lucky to be in one piece,” she said.

“Water levels and plunge pools can be drained overnight and in the pitch black this would be impossible to see. Dropping multiple feet into a concrete ‘pool’ could have severe implications for the person falling, resulting in significant injury or worse.”

She added: “We have a lot of health and safety rules regarding the correct use of the flumes for very good reasons and their flouting of them, especially in the dark, could have easily resulted in a tragedy.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said the incident was reported to them just after 9am on Wednesday.

“We were called at 9.04am to be informed that a number of people had entered Splashdown at Tower Park at night, without permission, to film a video.

“The matter has been passed onto the neighbourhood policing team to look into.”

The group which posted the video have also broken into other facilities overnight, including The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex in Southampton, which happened last October.

However, their risky exploits are often thwarted by security guards or police.