THREE hundred angry women were turned away from a charity event last night in the latest move to stop Full Monty style Ladies' Nights in Bolton clubs.
Police threatened to close down Farnworth Veterans' Club if they allowed Naughty Norman and his exotic dancers to take to the stage, claim organisers.
It was too late to cancel, so furious fundraisers paid back the £3 ticket money as the women turned up at the door.
The raunchy ladies' night was a sell out and expected to raise more £1,000 to buy a computer for the young people's ward at Christie Hospital. Cancer sufferer Eileen Shaw of Cook Street, Farnworth, was hoping for a bumper fund-raising evening but found herself standing on the door explaining the show had been cancelled at the last minute because it broke local obscenity bye-laws.
She said: "It was awful. People had paid for taxis and were arriving expecting a good night out.
"They were very angry. After all we are all grown women not four-year-olds. What right have they got to tell us what we can watch and what we cannot."
Devastated Eileen and some friends did a few turns and went ahead with the raffle for those who decided to stay and have a drink. She managed to raise about £400 on the night but is worried that she will not have the money for the computer when the representative from Christie turns up to collect the cheque.
"It's wicked. I have seen how brave those children first hand and it is very upsetting.
"It's disgusting that they will lose out because we are being treated like children.
"This event has been advertised for weeks. I cannot understand why they left it so late to stop it. I only learned it had been cancelled half hour before the doors were due to open."
It is the third time in recent months that police have stopped such charity nights going ahead as local officials try to outlaw strippers in the town.
A Ritzy, in Bolton town centre, dance group Men on Top kept their trousers on to make sure they did not fall foul of the bye-law.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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