Mick Hartley

A reminder of the importance of single-sex spaces.

In Lancashire, Matthew Gilkes, an IT teacher has been jailed for 16 years after being found guilty of a string of child sex abuse crimes including taking indecent photographs in the changing rooms at the leisure centre in Chorley.

In Southampton, Joshua Vallis has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in the mixed-sex changing rooms at Romsey Rapids swimming pool. Police found thousands of indecent images of children on his computer. He was released on bail and will be sentenced at a later date.

These two men had accrued thousands of indecent images of children. The crimes they committed in swimming pool changing rooms were part of a prolific pattern of offending.

Every woman and child is at risk of sexual predators using mixed-sex changing rooms to commit crimes. What will it take for local authorities, leisure providers and the sports councils to take this seriously?