WARRNAMBOOL police will target the surrounds of the refurbished Lighthouse Theatre after a couple was issued with fines of more than $1000 for urinating there early Sunday morning.
Police officer Sergeant Chris Asenjo said he was disgusted by the behaviour and actions of nightclub patrons after venues closed at 3am Sunday.
He said it was obvious a number of people had urinated in the area.
A woman in her early 20s was caught urinating on the west side of the new building. Her partner was seen doing up his pants in the same location. The woman was issued with a penalty notice of $611 for offensive behaviour and the man copped a $489 ticket for being drunk.
Both were arrested and lodged in the Warrnambool police station cells for a couple of hours.
Sergeant Asenjo said it was clear that on the night of the Lighthouse Theatre official opening that the refurbished public facility had attracted unwanted patrons.
He said that by 4am the area surrounding the theatre was covered in broken glass, litter, food, intoxicated people and urine.
"We caught two people but it was clear that a number of people had used that area as a public facility. That sort of behaviour will not be tolerated," Sergeant Asenjo said.
"Warrnambool police officers will target the area around the Lighthouse Theatre, focusing on Friday and Saturday nights from now on.
"We will have an increased presence to ensure the Lighthouse Theatre is treated with the respect it deserves."
The senior police officer said there was a public toilet just one block north, near the corner of Koroit and Liebig streets.
"Once the main nightclub venues close at 3am patrons just spill out onto the street. We will be taking up the behaviour of patrons with the licensees of the main nightclub premises," he said.
"There will be a focus on anti-social behaviour and we will issue penalty notices to offenders. We have a brand new state-of-the-art facility and the last thing we want is people in town sullying its name. We want it to remain in a pristine condition.
"Nightclub patrons who behave in this manner will go from having a big night out to having a very expensive night out."
Sergeant Asenjo said alcohol-affected patrons caught urinating in public could receive infringement notices for both offensive behaviour and being drunk, totalling $1100.