A BABY massage and yoga teacher claims her requests to hold sessions at a beach are being ignored.

Jessica Smith has been asking Colchester Council for permission to hold her mother and baby mindfulness classes on West Mersea Beach for the past month to no avail.

Mrs Smith, who is the founder of Mother Nurture UK, said: “I have gone round in circles with repeated requests each week but nobody has responded, seeming to shift it on to the next person.

“The problem this causes is that business like me are forced to approach private owners, who charge expensive fees, fees which are unfortunately passed on to the customer.

“This then becomes too expensive for the very customers who are most vulnerable and would benefit from these support groups the most.”

Mrs Smith, who lives in West Mersea, said mother and baby classes are particularly important in the current climate.

“There’s not really been anywhere for parents to take their babies due to the pandemic,” she added.

“This class would give new mums the chance to socialise more and get their babies socialised.

“Some babies haven’t had the chance to even meet other babies yet.”

Mrs Smith, who is a mum-of-one herself, said she simply wants the council to give her an answer either way so she can start holding classes at the beach, or look for a council-owned beach elsewhere.

Her calls for an answer comes during maternal mental health week.

Despite still waiting for an answer from the council, Mrs Smith is able to run a new mothers’ group in June in Layer Marney Towers.

“The group is for new mums who have suffered so much already over this pandemic,” she added.

A Colchester Council spokesman issued an apology to Mrs Smith and advised her to contact its parks and recreation officer.

To find out more visit mothernurtureuk.com.