A public swimming pool in Switzerland has banned groups of three or more, allegedly in an attempt to discourage large gangs of migrants. Left wing activists have branded the policy an “apartheid”.

The issue of recently arrived migrants misbehaving in public bathing facilities has become a hot topic in recent months across Europe, with pools in Germany, Austria and Belgium reporting incidents of sexual harassment, indecency, and even rape.

Now, an indoor pool in the small Swiss town of Lucerne Meggen has become just the latest to experience difficulties.

According to Focus, lifeguards have informed a group of migrants trying to enter of a new rule, that “no more than three applicants may simultaneously enter the bath”. The reasons, they claim, are related to the size of the pool and limited space.

Despite some horrific crimes, other pools which have sought to subsequently ban migrants have been forced to reverse such policies in a matter of days thanks to furious campaigns on social media and accusation of discrimination and even racism.

A Constitutional Law Professor at of the University of Base, Markus Schefer, told Focus that banning migrants would be discriminatory and illegal in Switzerland, but “it is permissible to define safety reasons and maximum occupancy”, he said, so long as the rule applies equally to migrants and integrated people.

However, a local pro mass migration activist who attempted to enter the pool with a group of Syrians has now compared the new rule to the violent oppression and segregation of black people in South African.

“These are states such as the apartheid regime”, blasted social worker Mirjam Müller-Bodmer.

However, the pool defended their policy, arguing that the it was enacted to protect rather the discriminate against migrants.

They said: “We value the security of asylum seekers. Because safety is important in the pool hall, the council has decided that only three asylum seekers can swim with an accompanying person in the pool.”