Threats made to gay bar at centre of vigilante sting

Dead pigeon thrown through door of venue

A city gay bar at the centre of a vigilante sting has been subjected to online abuse, threats to burn it down and even had a dead pigeon hurled through its door.

Limes boss Toni Butcher says he fears for the safety of staff and customers after it emerged last week that a barman had allegedly tried to lure a 14-year-old boy to the pub for sex – only to discover he had been in contact with a paedophile-hunting group.

The 37-year-old barman was confronted by members of the Internet Interceptors, who descended on the Rosemary Lane bar and uploaded five videos of the evening to Facebook.

Mr Butcher terminated the barman’s employment after he was arrested, but says that since then there have been threats of violence made to the premises.

Last Thursday a dead pigeon was thrown through the front door.

“It had a broken neck with blood everywhere and was obvi- ously killed for the purpose of throwing into the bar,” Mr Butcher said.

“We are being called paedophiles online, we’ve had people shouting through the door or saying that we should be closed down or even that the pub should be burned down.

“I’m not frightened any more. I’m now just angry.”

The Internet Interceptors have trapped dozens of men across the UK by posing as underage youngsters. Videos are then posted online and the police called.

Officers, who attended Limes in the wake of the backlash against the pub, have warned against vigilante groups ensnaring people by using fake profiles.

Mr Butcher added: “The police are right behind us on this. They recognise the attacks on us are homophobic and it’s a very dangerous situation that we’re in.

“But the police have been very good and they are supporting us, especially in light of the fact that some people are saying we should all be killed.”

Sarah Doherty, 37, is the founder of Internet Interceptors and has condemned those who have made threats to Limes.

“We do not condone and never will condone vigilante activity from anyone towards innocent people or businesses,” she said. “We have asked our followers on Facebook not to engage in vigilante or dangerous or unlawful activities.

“We needed to protect children, which is what we think we did during the sting.”

Police spokesman Scarlet Jones says officers are investigating a report of threatening or offensive communications carried out on social media.

Simon Burrin, 37, was arrested on suspicion of grooming after the sting and has since been bailed. He is due back at the police station on August 9.

How we reported the incident