Disgusting
Around 20 women were enjoying a lunch of soup and rum cake as they chatted about the latest goings on in the house on the edge of the village.
One member said: “There are some of us who think it’s a bit of a laugh.
“Obviously the WI had naked calendars in the past, but we’ll have a hard time trumping that.”
Another member, who only gave her name as Donna, said the news quickly travelled far and wide.
She said: “It’s quite a quiet village normally.
“But I had a text message from someone in Spain this morning saying ‘Marston Magna is in the news’.”
Another local said: “We haven’t even got a shop – you can’t buy a pint of milk or a loaf of bread. But now apparently you can pay for sex.’’
One 26-year-old mother of three said it has made her want to leave.
She said: “It started to get really bad in the summer. We always see people going in and out.
“My children ask me why has she got so many boyfriends and what is going on. As soon as one man goes, another one arrives.
“They cross each other on the path on their way in and out. I’ve seen some men take flowers and gifts with them.
“Some of them are really young but some are in their 60s. It’s a disgusting thing to do really.”
Mother of four Michelle Hackett, 42, said: “We often see men going in and out. And they are all different.
“There’s loads of them. I’ve even seen some men spray themselves with deodorant before going in.”
But one elderly resident, a villager for around two years who wishes to WI member Donna said the village was usually quiet remain anonymous, has seen the funny side to the saga. He said: “It’s been the local gossip since it was in the village newsletter. It’s laughable.
“Apparently she has had regular visitors and that’s why people got suspicious.”
Another resident, who said he had been living in the village for about 10 years, said: “We were in a village activity group, keeping the place tidy, and it came up in conversation. They were all joking about it asking each other, ‘have you been to the brothel?’”
A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset Constabulary said: “Police are working with the housing provider to find a suitable resolution.”
The woman is understood to have denied the allegations when questioned. No-one answered the door at the property yesterday.
But not everybody is shocked. Molly Smith, from the sex worker rights group Swarm, said: “People sell sex in all kinds of contexts – in order to pay the rent, put food on the table, and, often, to survive benefit cuts.
“Yes, even in picturesque
“In fact, if you live in any kind of medium-sized village or town, let alone a city, there is probably sex work happening in your neighbourhood.
“Sex workers have a vested interest in remaining discrete.” middleEngland.