The story, which broke in the local press, ran the next day in practically all tabloids, each competing to be more outraged than the next, no doubt prompting hollow groans from the authority's communications team. Nevertheless a council spokeswoman did her best, apparently telling the Daily Express: "Pole dancing is a unique dance form - it combines strength, co-ordination, cardiovascular, elegance, posture and flexibility in a dynamic, fun way. It is never boring." One small point - no children have actually signed up for the classes. What's more, a quick trawl through the BBC News archive proves nothing's new. In December 2006 - horror, shock, indignation - a Northumberland fitness instructor started offering pole dancing classes for boys and girls, described as "out of order" by a children's charity. Before that in November 2004, a pole dancer from Coventry abandoned plans to run classes for children aged 12 and over when the idea was branded "an outrage".
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