WAVES water centre bosses are to review security after a father had his belongings stolen while he was swimming with his family.

Owen Batty, 32, of Honey Hole, Blackburn, claims that after leaving his belongings in a locker at the centre and heading off for the pool, he returned to find most of his possessions gone, with just his pair of trainers left.

After notifying a member of staff he searched the cubicles in the changing area and found his bag, but the thief had stolen a mobile phone and £90 cash.

Now he is demanding Waves change the rules on lockers.

He said: "You put your stuff in a locker and you just close it. When you want it back you go to an attendant with a band and he opens the locker.

"I think the system should be changed. All you need to do is just change the number on the bands.

"It's just a rubber band with a number written in marker pen. If you have a pen anybody could change the number on these bands and get a locker open."

And Mr Batty claims that when his family, including girlfriend Kimberley, 22, and daughter Courtney, five, and three-year-old niece Alex, approached Waves for help they were told it was out of their hands and was a police matter.

He said: "They just didn't offer to help us in any way, shape or form. The way we have been treated, and the security system, is atrocious.

"We were stood there dripping wet and they said the only thing they could suggest was that we rang the police. They said it was nothing to do with them."

Nobody at Waves was willing to comment but Steve Rigby, Blackburn with Darwen's director of culture leisure and sport, said: "The band system of security has been successfully in place at Waves for the past 18 years.

"This is an isolated incident and while there is no evidence to support the theory that the security band had been tampered with, we will review our current security procedures as a result of the incident."

PC Craig Swift of Blackburn police said: "An officer was deployed and has taken the details. It will be looked into."