BOYS FILM

A CLEANER at a top Roman Catholic public school has been sacked after a secret video camera was found in a boys' shower room.

Child protection officers are now investigating after a pupil discovered the camera hidden behind a false ceiling.

Teachers at Worth School in the grounds of Worth Abbey, near Crawley, recovered a 30-minute recording of boys in the shower. However, it showed only clouds of steam and boys' heads.

A 31-year-old cleaner from Crawley was later arrested. He has been bailed to return to Haywards Heath police station on November 4.

The head, Father Christopher Jamison, has written to the parents of all 416 boys at the school. He said: "Obviously this was a disturbing incident but there is no evidence to suggest the boys were at any risk. It was a very primitive set-up indeed.

"There is also no evidence that any other video footage had been taken other than the 30 minutes recovered.

"It was most encouraging that the boy who found this immediately brought it to the attention of the headmaster.

"It was a disturbing incident, but life is now back to normal. The video footage is now in the hands of the police."

A pupil from Butler House, one of the school's five boarding houses, was using the shower when he noticed something odd in the ceiling. He removed a panel to reveal the camera.

The boy dismantled the camera and took it to teachers, who viewed the tape and called police. Officers then launched an investigation which led to the arrest of a cleaner, who has not been named, the following day.

The man has now been dismissed.

In his letter to parents, Fr Jamison reassured them that pupil safety was a top priority at the boys' school.

He wrote: "We make every effort to ensure that only suitable people are employed to work in a school environment. We will now review our procedures to see if there is any way we can be even more stringent."

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