Police hunt changing room spy

POLICE are today hunting a man who committed an indecent sexual act, as he spied on a naked teenager in a swimming pool changing room.

The 15-year-old girl was left shaken and distressed after the incident in a family changing room at Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre, which happened at around 5.40pm on Tuesday.

The teenager claims she was naked in a cubicle when she noticed a man peering over the top of a partition.

Despite telling the man to go away she claims he continued to stare at her and performed an indecent sexual act as she tried to get changed.

At the time of the incident the girl's friends are said to have been waiting for her outside the complex.

The terrified teenager claimed she called the man "a pervert" before he ran off when she threatened to tell the pool staff.

The man is alleged to have run off into the pool area, but despite a thorough search by centre staff and police officers, the man was nowhere to be seen and had disappeared without trace.

Although the centre is fitted with a CCTV camera in its reception it was not working at the time of the incident.

A spokesman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council which runs the pool, said: "We regret that a young swimmer was so distressed at our leisure centre and we appeal to anyone using the centre at the time to contact the police.

"There is no CCTV in the changing area for obvious reasons. The camera in the reception area, primarily used to protect staff, was not working on this occasion and we will be checking its operation."

She added that the authority was looking at ways to ensure the family changing rooms can only be accessed by families in the future.

The man was white, in his thirties, with short grey hair, and was wearing round-framed glasses.

Anyone with information should call Pc Nigel Yeates on 01284 774100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.