A pole dancing exercise club in Scotland has caused an uproar after it started offering lessons to children as young as six.

While the website for Up Yer Pole says the pole fitness classes are for children aged nine to 16, the U.K. newspaper The Sun said a reporter called and was told her six-year-old daughter would be welcome at the classes.

Children's charity Kidscape deputy director Peter Bradley told the newspaper the classes are "degrading" and it will "sexualize youngsters."

Up Yer Pole, which calls itself a pole and dance academy, says on its website that classes "do not contain pole dancing or any sexy dancing, we focus purely on pole fitness."

Owner Pammy Cameron also told The Sun they are fitness classes and the uproar is over nothing.

"There are no sexy routines or provocative dance wear, it just so happens there's a pole involved," she said.