A man exposed himself to two teenage girls and then chased them as they walked to school past a churchyard.

The girls, both 16, saw the man in the grounds of St Peter’s Church in College Road, Hextable.

The girls screamed and ran and the man chased after them.

He had gone by the time they reached Hextable School, where they reported the incident to head teacher Tina Bissett.

Police are now investigating and are urging anybody who knows anything about the incident to get in touch.

However, Stuart Lomas, the father of one of the girls, is unhappy with the way the school dealt with the situation, which happened on Thursday, May 2.

Mr Lomas, of Holmesdale Road, South Darenth, said: “I was disgusted when I heard what happened, but I don’t believe the school acted appropriately.

"They should have called police as soon as the girls told them what had happened.”

Mrs Bissett initially rang the school’s police liaison officer and left a voicemail message, but did not hear anything back. At 2.30pm she called the non-emergency number 101.

Mrs Bissett said: “My first priority was to look after the girls and make sure they were OK.

“What happened is very serious but I did not dial 999 because the incident was over by that time.”

“I’m absolutely livid. This man is still out there. I have another daughter at the school and there are lots of young children who he could prey on" - Stuart Lomas

Mr Lomas’s daughter had to sit a GCSE English exam that afternoon.

Her mum Tracy, 41, said: “She was really shocked by what happened and I think the most important thing should have been to sort that out properly so she could speak to police.

“The school seemed to be more concerned about their league tables than the girls’ welfare.”

Mr Lomas added: “I’m absolutely livid. This man is still out there. I have another daughter at the school and there are lots of young children who he could prey on.

“To top it off, nobody seems to know there’s a pervert flashing children in Hextable.”

Mrs Bissett said the school did not want to cause unnecessary alarm and panic.

She added: “It’s not completely clear as to exactly what happened that morning and I wanted to get details from police, and guidance on what I should say to parents, before I sent a newsletter out.”

Kent Police are investigating a report of outraging public decency and requests that anyone with any information call 101 and quote crime reference YY/8288/13.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Crime in progress should be reported to Kent Police by dialling 999. All other reports of crime or contact with the police can be made by calling the non-emergency number of 101.”