Nice n Naughty is celebrating a ‘four-midable’ success after being named the best in the business by their industry peers for a record fourth year running.

The Chester-based company that has 11 stores across the North West of England, Midlands and Wales was named Retailer of the Year at the Erotic Trade Only Awards – the industry equivalent of the Oscars.

At a glittering Birmingham awards ceremony, Nice n Naughty secured the coveted crown in an unprecedented run of success, beating rivals such as Ann Summers and the Private chain of sex shops – to mark its 9th anniversary in spectacular style.

Delighted company founder, Simon Prescott said the ceremony took place almost to the day since he started the company in 1999 from humble beginnings.

In a double boost Nice n Naughty Wholesale also won best oversees R18 film for Supernatural which is produced by the world’s leading adult movie maker, USA based Wicked Pictures.

Simon emphasised: “We have come a very long as since I started the business with one retail outlet in Chester. Nice n Naughty is a massive success story, built on a very dedicated and committed workforce. Customers can be assured that when they buy from Nice n Naughty they are buying from the best in the business. I am so very very proud of the retail team and would particularly like to thank our National Retail Manager Richard Allmark and his team for their total commitment, support and sheer hard work over the last 12 months. They never cease to amaze me.”

He added: This award is voted for by the industry itself so is extremely gratifying to realise we are so well respected and acknowledged by our peers.

The owner of Galway’s adult cinema continued to elude city council officials this week after efforts to serve notice on the mystery businessman proved repeatedly unsuccessful.

District Court Judge Eamon O’Brien granted Galway City Council solicitor Robert Meehan permission a fortnight ago to have the owner of the Galway city cinema, who was named as John Kelleher, brought before the court on July 17.

Meehan was seeking to have Kelleher give reasons why he should not be imprisoned for contempt of court after he refused to comply with an order issued last month that directed him to close the cinema.

The court order, which was issued on June 4 by Judge Mary Fahy, ordered the Jade Winters sex shop and the adjacent adult cinema to close and remove all signage from its premises after the courts were informed that they were operating without planning permission.

When Kelleher failed to comply with the court order the city council began the proceedings to gain permission to have him brought back before the court for contempt. However, the council was never able to serve notice on Kelleher because they were unable to trace a person by that name within Galway city.

As of Friday the Galway City Council had received no update on the whereabouts of the person in question.

The 24-seat cinema, which was first brought to the attention of officials by Mayor Padraig Conneely in May, is located behind the Jade Winters sex shop in the Liosban Industrial Estate on the Tuam Road.

As of late the shop and the cinema remain open for business.

Licensing chiefs have given the go-ahead for a sex shop to open up in Wellington despite scores of objections to the proposals from town nutters.

Telford & Wrekin Council had received letters of opposition to Nicola Dicken’s bid for a licence to operate a sex shop at 1A Vineyard Road.

But members of the council’s licensing panel today decided to allow Mrs Dicken to open after discussing the issue behind closed doors for nearly two hours.

The shop will only be allowed to open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9.30am to 6pm and Thursdays from 9.30am to 8pm.

No advertisements will be allowed outside the premises apart from the shop name, any goods or displays should be discreet and tasteful, and the interior of the shop should not be visible to passers-by.

Mrs Dicken, who already runs Romeo & Juliet sex shop in Ketley Business Park with her husband, Roger, said she was “over the moon” with the decision.

Mr Dicken said: Telford & Wrekin is obviously a forward-thinking council and they have come to the understanding that licensed sex shops can play a part and do have a place in society.

He told councillors the proposed location was a mixed use area and they had not had any problems when they had operated a sex shop at Trench Lock industrial estate, which was also near homes and a children’s activity centre.

A burglar has been caught on CCTV breaking into a sex shop - to raid shelves and apparently try on the sexy clothes.

The man throws a concrete block through the window of 'sexy superstore' Pulse & Cocktails in Skegness before darting behind the counter.

But instead of heading straight for the till, he pulls stockings and a pink wig from the shelves. He rampages around the shop snatching some naughty knickers off the racks and two pink PVC nurses outfits.

He then goes to the back of the shop with an armful of goods and pulls off his top - seemingly to try them on - before re-emerging and choosing another wig as the shop's alarm rings.

Shop manager Louise Whenman described the incident - which left a bill of £600 - as 'unreal': If only he had come into the shop in the daytime, we could have shown him many more outfits and helped him find the right size.

She added: He would have been devastated - the outfit on the dummy was a small and he would have needed a large.

Police confirmed that they had carried out an investigation and appealed for information. A spokesperson said: We haven't managed to trace the man but the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should call Skegness CID on 01754 614235.

Plans to open a new sex shop in Telford have been met with the inevitable nutter opposition.

Opponents of the bid have sent licensing officials about 50 letters of objection over plans to open a licensed sex shop at 1A Vineyeard Road, Wellington.

Applicant Nicola Dicken, who runs the Romeo and Juliet sex shop at Ketley Business Park with husband Roger, has applied for the licence to operate the shop. The couple are also seeking to renew the licence for their existing store.

Wellington Town Council has voiced its concerns over schoolchildren being in the vicinity of the proposed site, while other objectors have spoken out on moral grounds.

A letter sent to licensing bosses by Wrekin College says the school is “alarmed” at the proposal, adding that it could undermine expensive child protection measures they have implemented.

Another letter of objection reads: This is a nice residential area. We do not want the tone of the neighbourhood lowered by such a business as a sex shop.

Mr Dicken said : The reason we have applied for the shop there is because it’s in a mixed use area which is where sex shops must go under council rules. Many of the objections are on moral grounds, but there is also talk of schools and children being nearby. There are schools and children throughout society. If you look at Shrewsbury, there has been a sex shop across the river from the Wakeman School for years. Under-18s will not be allowed into our shop.

Members of Telford & Wrekin Council’s licensing committee will decide on the application on July 21.

The Temptations sex shop in Halifax has been operating since 2004 and, despite a letter of objection from Ibrar Hussain claiming it promoted evil and wrongdoing in the town centre, Calderdale Council voted to renew its licence.

A supposed 130 letters of objection were submitted to Calderdale Council about the shop being offensive and provocative. But the meeting was told that only one letter was proven to come from a genuine source.

The newly-elected Mohammed Ilyas (No So Lib Dem) was the only one of 15 councillors at the meeting who voted against the shop, on the grounds it corrupted the youth of Halifax.

Danielle Coombs (Lab, Ovenden), said: If you want to see our young people being corrupted, look at them falling out of our local pubs. Are we really going to ruin someone's business over this?"

A motion condemning the opening of "an adult sex shop" in Killarney and seeking to bar all other such businesses from the tourist town has been overwhelmingly passed by town councillors.

Although the motion mentioned opposing a specific shop in Glebe Place, Killarney, Co Kerry, it is now council policy to exclude sex shops from new retail units and this will be included in the new town development plan.

The new draft development plan for Killarney now lists adult shops, taxi offices and takeaway food outlets as non-conforming retail developments.

South Kerry Independent Alliance councillor Michael Gleeson said he feared the morality of young people would be affected by a visit to a sex shop as the young people of Killarney would go there out of curiosity. Sex shops would also be visited by some people of "dubious character", he noted.

Only one of the nine Killarney town councillors, Labour Party member Seán O'Grady voted against the move opposing the opening of a sex shop. O'Grady said sex shops were aimed at adults. Nobody is proposing that we close down pubs because they are frequented by young people.

Plans for a discreet back entrance at a Port Talbot sex shop have been blocked by the council.

Simon Sternchuss, owner of the Secret Desires store in Taibach, applied to change the name of the store to “licensed sex shop” was also refused by Neath Port Talbot Council’s registration and licensing committee.

Tracy Richards, manager of Sternschuss’s store in Cardiff, represented him at the June 24 meeting, in his absence. She said: If we have a fire exit – we thought we would use it as a discreet entrance for our customers as well. It would be the same as the front entrance, with a buzzer system so we wouldn’t let anyone underage in. We have a back entrance at the Cardiff store, which 80% of our customers use.

Chairman of the committee, Ted Latham, said: We have received letters of complaint from a local councillor, who is concerned about the changes in the licence, especially changing its name to ‘sex shop’. We have refused to allow the name to be changed as there is no evidence of people being confused as to what it is.

Member of the committee, Coun Marian Lewis, said: I find it very hard to believe that people do not know what it is. To change the name would offend a lot of people - there are a lot of children and elderly people in the area.

The application to have a fire exit was approved, but using it as a back entrance for customers was rejected.

Miss Richards said an appeal would be lodged on behalf of the Secret Desires shop.

A letter of objection from Taibach councillor Anthony Taylor read:

I am writing to formally object to the proposal before the Registration & Licensing Committee on Tuesday, 24 June 2008 to use the phrase “Licensed Sex Shop” on the front of Secret Desires, Commercial Road, Taibach, Port Talbot.

In an age, when youngsters are being exposed to sex at an earlier stage in their lives, I, and my ward colleague, Coun John Rogers, strongly believe that this application would be a step in the wrong direction.

The signage already in place at Secret Desires makes it perfectly obvious to those who wish to take advantage of its products that it is an adult shop.

It informs prospective customers simply and without confusion whilst at the same time is as discreet as could be expected in the circumstances. The very term “adult shop” is easily understood by over 18s, whilst at the same time can be explained away to young children who may start asking questions about its activities. The use of the word “sex” on the shop front cannot.