A mother has warned parents to be on guard when taking their children swimming after her daughter was spied on by a pervert armed with a mirror.

Toni Hanson's nine-year-old daughter, Robin Hanson, was undressing in a cubicle in the communal changing rooms at the Council-owned Shipley baths in Alexander Road when she saw a man's feet and a hand holding a mirror under the door.

"I was absolutely disgusted when she told me what happened," said Mrs Hanson. "The thought of a pervert preying on your child is every parent's worst nightmare.

"I want to bring this to the public's attention so that other parents will be more vigilant when they take their children swimming."

Mrs Hanson said her daughter was very distressed and embarrassed by what happened. "She was very embarrassed and red-faced when she told me," she said.

Mrs Hanson did not notice anyone behaving strangely but said when she reported the incident to staff at the swimming baths they said they thought they knew who it could be.

"They assured me they would contact the police to deal with it," said Mrs Hanson.

When asked, Bradford Council was unable to provide the Telegraph & Argus with the details of when they reported the matter to police or to whom they reported it.

Steve Warner, Bradford Council's Head of Sport and Leisure Service, said: "Our staff at Shipley Pool are extremely vigilant and conscientious and I was very concerned to hear of this recent incident. Such behaviour in our facilities is very, very rare and will not be tolerated and is always treated seriously and will involve the police as necessary."

He said ensuring the Council's pools and sports centres were safe places for all customers to visit was paramount.

"We have worked extremely hard to eliminate incidents of this nature particularly through our Leisurewatch training," said Mr Warner.

"Leisurewatch is a scheme that aims to further improve the safety of children and young people visiting sport and leisure facilities.

"Leisurewatch training improves the skills of staff to be more vigilant and more able to identify offending behaviour that may particularly target children and vulnerable people."

e-mail: jennifer.sugden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk