Man was moving his hand vigorously in his shorts close to a woman exercising

Footage was filmed at a gym in Stellenbosch, a university town in Western Cape

Virgin Active said the man had been banned for life from all of their gyms

Video was posted on social media, captioned: 'I want this man's face to go viral'

A man who was allegedly caught masturbating close to a woman squatting has been banned from the gym for life.

The scene was recorded by an onlooker at a Virgin Active gym in Stellenbosch, a university town in South Africa's Western Cape.

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In the footage a man can be seen sitting on an exercise mat just a few yards away from a woman who is doing weighted squats.

While he uses his phone with his right hand, the other appears to be moving vigorously in his shorts with a towel over his lap.

Woman can be seen using a kettle bell as she squats close to the man

He sits on an exercise mat and appears to be vigorously moving his left hand beneath his shorts

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The footage of the man appears to have been taken by another gym-goer who was riding an exercise bike in plain view of the scene

Another gym-goer filmed the man while sitting on an exercise bike in plain view of the man and woman.

It was posted on social media with the caption: 'I want this man's face to go viral. This was at the Virgin Active in Stellenbosch @virginactiveSA. Absolutely abysmal behaviour.'

Local media report the Virgin Active branch responded to the incident by taking immediate action against the man for his 'depraved behaviour' and his membership was reportedly terminated.

A spokesperson for the chain of gyms added that he had been handed a life ban from each of their facilities because of the clip.

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It is unclear if the video has been reported to the police.