New owners of Worthing sex shop continue with 'hard porn' bid

THE new owners of a Worthing sex shop will continue a four-year fight to sell hard core pornography.

Pillow Talk is expected to open in early February in Rowlands Road '“ in the former Secret Desires shop '“ and the owners have confirmed they will apply to Worthing Council to become a licensed sex shop.

The shop's former owners, Shoptonight, failed in three bids to become licensed, which would allow the sale of hard core pornography but also impose stringent restrictions on access to the shop.

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Tony Gonzalez, general manager of Pillow Talk's 16 shops across Sussex, Surrey and Kent, said his company had bought the Worthing and Bognor shops from Shoptonight and would be "more female-friendly".

He acknowledged the role of self-styled morality campaigner Steve Stevens in campaigns against the previous shop but said Pillow Talk would not be "a traditional back-street sex shop".

Female-friendly

"We are more like Ann Summers with a range of adult DVDs as well," said Mr Gonzalez.

"We are the type of shop aimed towards couples and more female-friendly, rather than a traditional adult shop.

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"This shop, to begin with, is going to be carrying mostly lingerie and toys as it's an unlicensed shop."

Mr Gonzalez said the shop window would feature displays of lingerie until the licence was granted, something he was confident would happen.

New application

He said: "We are, after all, living in the 21st century and not in the 1950s, and there's a lot worse that goes on in the world.

"On the whole, most Worthing residents would not be too unhappy to have a licensed shop here.

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"You can choose to come in if you want to, you don't have to if you don't want to."

Alan Butler, managing director of Pillow Talk, said he hoped to submit the licence application to the council within the next two weeks.

Shoptonight was unavailable to comment on why it had closed Secret Desires.

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