The owner of several sex shops has been barred from opening a new store in a North-East town.

There were cheers from the public gallery as licensing officials announced yesterday they were to refuse permission for the shop.

The councillors from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council noted a 2,000-name petition against the plan and argued that the shop would be in the wrong location.

Chairman Brenda Forster said the councillors had agreed that the proposed shop, in West Dyke Road, would be too near to schools, a Brownies and Rainbows Centre and a new multi-million pound town centre shopping development.

Sheffield-based businessman Kevin Mitchell already owns seven other sex shops, including one in Middlesbrough and one in Darlington.

He now has 21 days to appeal against the decision.

Mr Mitchell's barrister Nageena Khalique said the business would be advertised sensitively and would be prepared to close while the Brownies and Rainbows had their meetings.

Redcar has a shop which sells fetish clothes and a newsagent which sells sex videos, but neither have a full sex shop licence.

Elsewhere, Darlington has three sex shops, Newcastle one, and Middlesbrough one, but Sunderland, Durham and Gateshead do not have any.