A Christian pressure group is determined to keep on fighting for the closure of a sex shop.

The group Campaign for Family Values will be urging councillors to close the Private Shop, in Butt Lane, Colchester, when its licence comes up for renewal on Thursday.

Campaigners have been trying unsuccessfully to get the shop closed since it opened in 1984.

Joan Taylor, from the group, said: "We are determined to persist with our campaign. We have to be mindful of other people's points of view but we must not confuse this with watering down our moral standards.

She added: "We are getting more concerned about the harmful effects of pornographic videos. After they have been sold there are no controls about who can actually watch these videos.

"What control do we have over our children when they visit their friend's house."

The group believes the council should reconsider the application even if nothing has changed since it was last approved. Mrs Taylor said other councils such as Southend had turned down renewal licences for such shops.

Under the law, the council could also refuse the application if it felt the renewal was inappropriate to the character of the relevant locality or if there were too many similar establishments in the area.

But a spokeswoman for Colchester Council said the reasons for refusal must be based on legal not moral grounds.

She said: "If they had a mind to, we believe the council could legally turn this application down."

The application will be considered by Colchester councillors at the environmental protection (licensing) sub-committee.

The management of the shop did not want to comment.

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