Parents left with unanswered questions as man arrested after camp is closed

A Hertfordshire police spokesman said Mr Lewis was granted bail at the hearing but that the Crown Prosecution Service had lodged an appeal against the decision.

The appeal is due to be heard on Friday at St Albans Crown Court.

The offences include copying or downloading indecent images from the internet and do not necessarily mean that the individual charged has taken the photographs themselves.

The privately-run American style camp, which is popular with Jewish families in the area, was closed last Thursday.

Ofsted has suspended its registration and its website has been taken offline.

The camp was set up in 2010 in the grounds of the prestigious St Margaret's School, where boarding fees are up to £9,519 a year. This summer's camp was due to finish on August 28.

A police spokesman said: "Specialist officers and staff from Hertfordshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire County Council remain involved to handle any specific concerns of parents and any other information relevant to this inquiry.

"This matter is now subject to court proceedings which must be allowed to progress unimpeded by speculation - particularly that on social media - which could impede the justice process.

"If you have any information which you think may be relevant please call Hertfordshire Police on 101.

"If you have any general concerns about your child's welfare, contact Hertfordshire County Council on 0300 123 4043 and ask to make a referral to Children's Services."

● Parents have expressed shock after the camp popular with Jewish families was closed last Thursday.

The closure was announced with a statement on Facebook. It read: "We regret to inform you that LL Camps will be closed for the summer with immediate effect.

"We understand that this will cause significant inconvenience to you and we are exceptionally apologetic for this.

"We cannot disclose any further information at this time and we appreciate your patience."

The LL Camps cater for children aged 3-14 years old.

Parents also took to Facebook groups to voice their concerns.

Hundreds of them have been left without childcare, despite having paid for the camp in advance.

One mother, whose children aged 11 and eight had attended for the past three years, said she had lost sleep over news of the arrest.

She said: "It's a huge shock, it's really upsetting, it's scary. You would never knowingly put your children in harm's way."

"Neither of my kids has said anything that caused me concern - so I don't think they're personally impacted. "

Another Jewish mother, whose five-year-old daughter was spending her third year at the camp, said that her child was "too young to realise if anything had happened, but I am angry that [the organisers] have not said anything.

"As parents, we have so many questions that we want answered: what's going to happen, is the camp going to re-open, are we going to get our money back?"

As a full-time working mum, she said she would now have to find another camp for her daughter, having already paid LL Camps £500.

She said: "I am now in a situation where I have to work and pay for another camp, which I cannot afford to do."

One father echoed her concerns after he paid £200 in advance for his sons to attend. He heard about LL Camps from a United Synagogue-based nursery.

"If we got the money back we could afford to send our sons to another camp," he said. "We can't fork out for another one. They're at home now. My wife can't get out of the house - that camp was her saviour."

An email sent to parents from the LL Group said the camp would remain closed for the remainder of the summer, and that parents should make other childcare arrangements. A "proper reimbursement of fees" was promised.

The camp was set up by Mr Lewis and co-director ex-JFS student Tal Landsman in 2010. Mr Landsman has not been part of any police investigation.

Mr Lewis and Mr Landsman were in the process of applying to establish the LL Primary cross-communal free school in the Borehamwood area. In a statement, Mr Landsman thanked parents "for their kind and supportive words". He asked that he and his family's privacy be respected at this time.

He said he had been in contact with the Department for Education and updated them on the situation. The DfE said it would not comment during an ongoing investigation.

An Ofsted spokesperson confirmed that the registrations of American Camps Company Limited, under which LL Camps operates, and the LL Nurseries in Borehamwood, which was due to open in September, had been suspended.

It declined to comment on the free school application. "It would be inappropriate while investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.