Two men entered a children's soft play centre in Cardiff and defecated in a ball pit, leaving parents disgusted. The incident occurred on August 25 at the soft play area within Penylan library and community centre at Roath recreation ground.
Parent Concerns Raised on Social Media
A parent took to Facebook to express concerns about people being able to walk into the ball pit area and criticised a lack of security at the leisure centre. They added: "This is such a huge risk to the children."
The post sparked widespread reaction among local families, with many expressing shock and anger over the incident.
Staff Response and Cleanup
Better leisure centres in Cardiff, which operates the facility, confirmed that staff intervened immediately and asked the two men to leave the building. The ball pit was closed for the remainder of the day, with all balls replaced and the area deep cleaned.
A spokesperson for Better leisure centres in Cardiff said: "We can confirm that an incident took place on August 25 when two men entered the soft play ball pit at Penylan Library. A member of staff immediately confronted the men and asked them to leave the building – which they did. As a precaution, the ball pit was then closed for the remainder of the day, the balls were replaced and the area deep cleaned."
The spokesperson added: "There are always two members of staff on duty at any time and this incident was dealt with swiftly and professionally by our staff in August. There have been no further incidents of this kind reported."
Political Escalation
Prior to the organisation's confirmation, Penylan's Liberal Democrats group said they were aware of the reports and had escalated the matter to the relevant cabinet member for investigation. In a statement they said: "We are aware of rumours circulating on social media regarding an incident at a local soft play. We have escalated this to the relevant cabinet member who has said they will investigate it as a matter of urgency. However, at the moment these are unsubstantiated rumours so we ask people to wait for the truth before spreading these rumours further."
The incident has prompted renewed calls for enhanced security measures at the facility, though no further incidents have been reported since.
