BRISTOL, ENGLAND — Residents of a quiet cul-de-sac community called The Coppice are planning to make some noise Saturday. They’re incensed that an adult filmmaker has used his private residence as a studio, and they’re determined to let him know the extent of their ire by picketing outside the house.Protest organizer Zena Robbins said she expects about 20 people to join the rally, which was put together after local authorities refused to take action against James Edwards.
“Everyone is angry,” Robbins told the Daily Mail. “We pay high rates in this area and expect some support from the authorities. This is a nice area we chose to live in, but it is no longer a happy community. We now get comments from all sources about this disgraceful situation we have to put up with.”
Added neighbor Fred Hillberg, “We approached the police, South Gloucestershire Council and even the Home Office and provided surveillance video, adverts, website data and pictures, but to no avail.”
The neighborhood began to take issue with Edwards two years ago, when the adult entertainment impresario allegedly hosted “pornographic activities” in his front garden. After an investigation, Edwards signed an Acceptable Behaviour Contract with the police, promising to be more careful about what he allowed to happen on his front lawn in the future.
A spokesman for the South Gloucestershire Council said Edwards upheld his end of the bargain, and police said there have been no reports of “antisocial behavior” on the property since.
What the man does behind closed doors, though, is nobody’s business — as long as he keeps porn out of the public view.
“We believe the occupier is legitimately running a pornographic recording studio,” a police official told the Daily Mail.
Edwards himself told the Bristol Evening Post that he’s strictly legit, and the local cops have no problem with him or his enterprise.
“The police have fully investigated the complaints from my neighbors, and as far as I am aware the police don’t have an issue with me,” he said.
He, however, has an issue with his neighbors.
“My health is deteriorating because of the stress they are putting me under,” he told the paper.
That won’t stop the protest march, scheduled for 10:30 am local time.
“[Our neighborhood] is no place for this sort of thing,” resident Pete Kite told the Daily Mail. “It’s degrading and affecting our lives and property status.”
According to neighbor Mike Otley, “This is a family area, and we will not tolerate it. Some people feel like prisoners in their own home.”
As we’re sure Edwards understands all too well.
