CCTV call after mum and five-year-old see man carry out lewd act on Morecambe prom

The woman, who does not wish to be named, was walking with her son along the promenade towards the RNLI lifeboat station when she spotted the man walking towards them.

She was shocked to suddenly realise he was openly performing a lewd act as he walked along.

After reporting the incident to police, she was later told there were no CCTV cameras in sight of the area to be able to identify the man.

A second person had also reported the man, and a similar incident allegedly occurred near the Festival Market in the summer.

The mum was told the only security camera in the region was on the junction of Northumberland Street, but it wasn’t pointing in the right direction at the time.

"They were taking it very seriously and said they would step up patrols in the area but there’s no physical evidence so they can’t do anything,” she said.

"We are supposed to be getting a big visitor attraction [Eden Project North] coming to the area; people need to feel safe.

"I was with my five-year-old son and had to try and shield him. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.

"We use the prom regularly like a lot of families do. It’s not the kind of thing you expect to see.”

The mum praised the police for their support on the issue.

"They have been absolutely fabulous,” she said. “The lack of CCTV coverage is very frustrating for them as well as for me.

"How can they do their job properly?"

The incident happened at about 5pm on Monday November 28.

A Lancaster City Council spokesman said: “As a member of the Community Safety Partnership public safety is extremely important to us and CCTV plays a role in that.

"A number of the cameras across the district, including those on Morecambe Promenade, move position to provide better coverage and it is unfortunate that in this instance the footage wasn’t available to assist.

"We are continuing to explore funding opportunities to expand the network of cameras as well as other initiatives with our partner agencies which include the police and Morecambe BID.”