Gym users are sneaking into a Wolverhampton leisure centre without paying, forcing staff to step up security, it has emerged.

Security has been tightened by bosses at  Aldersley Leisure Village in a bid to stop people getting into the building and using its gym equipment and sports facilities for free.

But bosses admitted they were “constantly tackling” the problem.

A centre user, who didn’t want to be named, said: “At a time when public sector finance is increasingly under the spotlight and essential services face cuts this seems to have escaped the management team at Aldersley Leisure Village who are content to allow scores of individuals who sneak unto the stadium over the fence to use the gym every day without paying.”

But Alison Compton, facility manager at Aldersley Leisure Village, said a range of measures had been brought  in to tackle the issue of people using the site without paying.

She said: “Aldersley Leisure Village is a large, well-used complex with a number of entrances, and because of this we are aware of customers occasionally trying to gain access to the building without paying.

“Our staff are constantly tackling this issue and have greatly been improving admission control in the last few years.”