LEISURE centre staff are on the alert after a pervert tried to take pictures of two girls who were changing following a Malmesbury Swimming Club event.

The girls, aged 11 and 14, were in the changing rooms at The Olympiad, Chippenham, when they saw a hand holding a camera appear underneath the cubicle divider.

Their description of the suspect as a short, stocky black man aged between 30 to 35 matches that of a man who had been reported trying to take pictures in the changing rooms on another occasion the previous week.

Olympiad staff have been warned to keep a lookout for the man, and managers are investigating ways to prevent another incident.

"Of course we take this very seriously," said North Wiltshire Leisure Ltd's head of operations Gary Milne.

"We are looking at our procedures to work out how we can improve things. We have briefed all staff and urged them to be vigilant. If he came in again, this man would be stopped."

A family friend said the girls, who live in Chippenham, were in the Olympiad's family changing room following the club event on March 16 when the incident happened. They saw a hand come underneath the cubicle divider, holding a camera.

They shouted at the man but he did not go away and one of the girls knelt down to peer under the divider. Then the man left the changing room and disappeared.

The girls phoned their parents, and Olympiad staff called the police.

The family friend said: "Of course I am very concerned about this. I have a son myself and I want the Olympiad to be safe and right now it's not.

"People want to be able to organise events and for children to take part. You don't want to have to follow your children around everywhere."

Mr Milne said, in the light of the incident, he would be discussing security with groups that hire the centre and recommend they put an adult on patrol around the changing areas.

Olympiad managers are also working on a plan to direct one of the centre's CCTV cameras on the main door into the changing area.

Barbara Maidment, secretary of the Malmesbury Swimming Club, said: "I was aware this had happened. Club coach Lorraine Weeks is dealing with the situation."