Dancers in Bradford are being urged to avoid offers of auditions which they have to pay for.

The warning comes after unemployed Simon Tomlinson answered a newspaper advertisement recruiting dancers for performances in pubs and clubs around west Yorkshire.

The advert said no experience was needed as training would be provided, and the dancers would receive £5 to £20 an hour for two to six hours work a night.

The 30-year-old from Undercliffe, who started dancing in his early teens, said he phoned the number in the advert and talked to Andrew Roberts.

"He said I would have to send a cheque for £20 which was for registration. But he said he wouldn't cash it and I would get it back if I turned up for the first session.

"He said it was just to ensure people were genuine. He told me he was recruiting dancers for a show at the Alhambra and training would start on Sunday, March 5.

"He said he would phone me on March 1 to tell me where and when they were all meeting so he could allocate positions on the stage and see what people could do.

"He said the pay would be £25 an hour and I thought that would be good because I'm out of work with a family."

Mr Tomlinson, who has won local modern dance competitions in the past, said he received no phone call on March 1.

"I tried the number in the advert and it was temporarily out of order and the cheque had been cashed on March 1, according to my bank."

Mr Roberts gave him an address in Stainbeck Gardens, Buttershaw.

Rights and Wrongs found out that was the address of Mr Roberts's parents. We spoke to his mother who said she hardly saw him and she knew nothing about his dance training.

But she did offer to reimburse Mr Tomlinson the £20. We asked her to pass on a message to her son to contact us.

The advertisements were placed by an Andrew West and we found the address given in Moorville Avenue, Bradford Moor, was the home of Mr Roberts's cousin.

He said he hardly ever saw Mr Roberts and did not know anything about the advert or dance training.

John Botteley, general manager of the Alhambra Theatre, said no shows booked so far this year were recruiting dancers.

He said he also checked with the other venues run by Bradford Council - the Alhambra Studios, the King's Hall in Ilkley, Bingley Arts Centre, Victoria Hall, Saltaire, and Baildon's Ian Clough Hall.

"We checked that none of the amateur or professional companies were recruiting in this way," he said.

"The only shows we have confirmed up to and beyond Christmas have all professional casts.

"My advice to people who see these advertisements would be to check with the theatre management first and certainly not to pay any money up front for an audition of any sort."

Rights and Wrongs has been unable to contact Mr Roberts.

We would like to hear from anyone who has responded to the advertisements and sent money to him.

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