RESIDENTS are objecting to plans to open a sex shop in a busy shopping area of Middlesbrough.

Plans to set up a Fetish Forum store in the town's Linthorpe Road are being resisted by local residents group A New Era.

The group, from nearby Granville Road, is concerned about the impact the store, which sells sex clothing and toys, may have on the area.

A spokesman from the group said: "Granville Road has a large population of young and teenage children and we fear for their safety due to the nature of the clientele this shop will attract.

"We all know the inquisitive nature of children in their sexuality and we as parents don't want our children believing sex is something that is seedy and purchased behind blackened windows."

Members of Middlesbrough Council's licensing committee will discuss the plans on Monday.

The couple behind the Fetish Forum stores, Ken and Linda Mitchell, have met Cleveland Police to discuss the proposal.

Mrs Mitchell said: "The shops are tastefully done. We are guided by the council and the police.

"They are not seedy shops and there is a demand.''

The town already has a sex shop in Borough Road and an Ann Summers shop in the main town centre.

There are concerns that allowing this shop to open would send out the wrong message in terms of presenting the town throughout the region.

Councillor Tom Mawston said: "The existing shop in Borough Road has been licensed every year without objection but to open a similar store in Linthorpe Road would be detrimental to an area we are trying to re-establish as a main shopping thoroughfare."

His views were echoed by councillors Barry Coppinger and Mike Carr and Southfield Community Council.

A report to the committee said: "In determining this application members need to put aside all moral judgements in relation to the nature of the premises and consider the application on its merits, taking into account the views of local objectors."