Police investigate after man exposed himself on primary school chat

Specialist detectives are investigating after a stranger managed to log into a primary school live streaming service - and performed a sex act in front of the children.

The incident happened when a number of pupils from a school in Leeds, West Yorks., were taking part in a group chat via a social media app earlier this week.

An unknown man joined in the chat and exposed himself - before performing a sex act.

One school has written to parents urging them to delete the app from their children's phones.

The letter issued to parents said that Monday's incident was not the first involving the live.ly video streaming platform to be reported.

It said Leeds Safeguarding Board had received at least one other call in the past week voicing similar concerns about the app, which is linked to the musical.ly platform.

The letter about live.ly issued in Leeds explained: "Whilst the app is only supposed to access contacts on the user's phone, it appears that quite quickly, friends of friends of friends are able to join the group chat whom your child does not know at all.

"It is therefore an unsafe app for children to use, as it risks either an incident such as happened, or opportunities for your child to be groomed online and therefore at risk of sexual exploitation."

A police spokesman said: "Specialist detectives from Leeds District Safeguarding Unit are investigating and enquiries are ongoing to identify the person responsible.

"Officers are also liaising with Leeds City Council and working with schools to offer support to pupils and to reinforce messages to pupils and parents around online safety."

Earlier this month schools in Liverpool were also reported to have issued letters detailing concerns about the musical.ly app.

Liverpool Cyber Safety Team had warned the app was increasingly being used by those wishing to groom children, due to the age of most of its users.