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A SWIMMER claimed all men are being branded as paedophiles after new changing room rules were imposed across Kirklees.

Father-of-three Craig Roper said he was upset when he was ordered out of Scissett Baths’ men’s changing room because schoolchildren were using it.

Mr Roper, who has used the baths regularly for 30 years, said he normally went to the noon public length swimming.

He said if schoolboys were still getting changed he would use the private cubicles.

But on March 18 Mr Roper found himself in a bust up with a female teacher after being let into the electronically operated room by a lifeguard.

He said: “She said ‘What are you doing in here, you’re not supposed to be here?’

“I said ‘This is a male public changing area’, but she said, ‘we’ve rented this space’.”

Mr Roper was then forced to use the bath’s separate sauna facility to change.

He said: “It implies that any male is perceived as paedophilic or as a threat or pervert.

“They haven’t done this on the female side.

“I don’t take it personally I just resent the introduction of a plethora of rules and regulations without considering how it impacts people’s lives.

“It would now seem that the local schools have initiated a policy of ‘lock down’ and implemented designated exclusion zones in what should be public spaces.

“After decades of the common sense approach to the multi-use of this small pool with limited resources it would now seem that the politically correct brigade have hijacked the agenda.

“These new imposed rules and regulations interfere with the civil liberties of the general public wanting to use this public sports centre.”

A spokeswoman for Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL), said the policy was there to protect all customers and applied both to male and female changing rooms.

She said: “We take all of our customers’ safety and privacy very seriously and in order to protect all of our customers against any potential incidents we have a number of policies in place.

“In response to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and the Kirklees Council Safe Practice in School Pools, KAL Pools and other Swimming Activities 2008, we have a duty to specific groups in our community including our local schools to provide safeguarding of children.

“Kirklees Active Leisure introduced a new school swimming policy in 2007 in partnership with the education service stating that the teacher in charge of school swim sessions has the responsibility to ensure the safety and supervision of the pupils.

“As part of this policy KAL, where possible, make arrangements for separate school changing areas to be available.

“This is the case at Scissett Baths, alternative changing areas are available to other customers during this time. These policies not only protect children but also all of our customers.”

Mr Roper’s incident comes shortly after businessman Mirko Fischer said he was suing British Airways after he was told he could not sit next to a child that was not his son.

The airline has a policy that bans male passengers from sitting next to children they don’t know – even if the child’s parents are on board.