A charity event planned to raise money for a Doddinghurst football club had to be scrapped because of a 50-year-old act.

Doddinghurst Olympic Football Club was hoping to boost its funds by staging a Hypnotist Night at the village hall in School Road.

But these plans were ruined at the 11th hour when the club heard from Brentwood Council that they could not stage the event unless they made an application in accordance to the Hypnotism Act 1952, which prohibits this kind of performance in the town.

Chairman of the club, Gary Waplington, was shocked at the news. He said: "When we first decided to stage this night I was told I might need permission from the council.

"I called them and left a message and didn't hear anything so I thought I should check and they said that I could not go ahead because of this act.

"The council was very helpful but there was no way around it so we had to cancel the hypnotism act and we have a private party instead."

Head of environmental health and public protection services at Brentwood Council, Simon Bennett, said: "There is no problem with the venue because it has an entertainment license but the difficulty lies within this license as it contains the Hypnotism Act 1952.

"The act prohibits any hypnotism unless prior permission is gained and unfortunately this takes time because we have to consult with local councillors."

Published Wednesday, May 28, 2003

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