Residents protest at pub's strippers plan

Campaigners are fighting to stop their local pub being turned into a strip joint.

More than 90 people have protested at an application by Satchmo's in Stoke Newington Road to become a "sex encounters establishment".

They fear the move would offend residents and lead to more crime.

Group spokesman Stewart Aitken, 32, a journalist who has lived in the area for seven years, said: "Research carried out in Camden showed a rise in sexual assaults and rape over three years following the opening of strip clubs there."

But pub manager Scott Davis said: "We're trying to reinvent ourselves as a modern, stylish cocktail bar that offers adult entertainment and live music.

"We believe it will be a positive thing for the area." Hackney licensing committee will make a decision next month.