Display of undies is a no-go

Plans for a racy window display at a Kidderminster sex shop have fallen at the first hurdle after councillors refused to give them their backing.

Simply Pleasure had asked for permission to put lingerie and skimpy clothing in the window of its Horsefair store.

It wanted to put an end to misunderstandings about what the shop was as staff regularly had people asking whether it was a massage parlour.

But members of Wyre Forest District Council's licensing and environmental committee said an "explicit display" would not be in keeping with its location. There were fears a saucy shop window could be distracting for drivers and inappropriate because of the amount of people, including children, walking past.

Councillor Peter Dyke said at the meeting yesterday: "It would be distracting to people on what is a busy and quite narrow road."

Simply Pleasure's area manager for the West Midlands, John Simpson, said: "If Marks & Spencer or Ann Summers want to display lingerie in their windows they can but because we have a "sex establishment licence" we can't."

The committee's decision is now expected to be rubber-stamped at the next district council cabinet meeting.