A consumer survey conducted by swimming teaching and lifesaving organisation STA has found that one in four people admit to having urinated in a public swimming pool.

The survey found that men between the ages of 18-34 were noted as the most serial offenders, with one in ten people altogether choosing to confess that they had undertaken the act deliberately.

STA commissioned the online public survey, which sought the views of 2,013 people, to help understand the hygiene habits of pool users, with the main questions covering people’s understanding of pre-swim showers and the rules of using swimming pools after an upset stomach.

The survey also concluded that a quarter of pool users do not take a pre-swim shower, while one in five claimed that they would return to use a swimming pool within 48 hours of suffering from an upset stomach.

One particularly intriguing finding conveyed that more than half of respondents said centre managers do not provide sufficient hygiene information at the poolside.

The research was conducted by Opinium for STA’s Rules for Pools and Rules for Clean Pools public education campaign. Following the research, STA says that the findings clearly demonstrate how crucial it is for the leisure industry to “connect the dots” on issues surrounding hygiene, through better education and effective pool plant training.

The survey was published days after Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington - appearing on the popular TV show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here - admitted that she 'always' pees in swimming pools. Her admission quickly became a 'hot topic' across a number of social media platforms.

More information on the study is available here