MEMBERS of a Lancashire protest group have pledged their support for the Echo’s campaign to stop sex offenders being housed at Felmores Bail Hostel in Basildon.

The protesters are opposing plans for sex offenders to be moved into a hostel in the quiet village of Edenfield, Rossendale, and sympathise with the plight of people living near Felmores.

The location of the Edenfield hostel, Chatterton Hey House, is strikingly similar to Felmores – it’s close to two primary schools, a pre-school, opposite a park and in a residential area.

Father-of-two Matthew Mead, 40, who has been leading the opposition in Edenfield over the past six weeks, read about the Echo’s campaign online and is encouraging his fellow protesters to sign the Echo’s petition and join the Facebook group.

Referring to hostel resident and convicted sex offender Dean Freeman, 24, who sexually-abused a seven-year-old boy, Mr Mead said: “It’s been frightening reading about Felmores and thinking ‘that could happen here’. We don’t think this is a suitable area for sex offenders to be housed – just like Felmores.”

His group successfully persuaded the Langley House Trust, which runs Chatterton Hey House, not to extend its services to paedophiles last month.

But campaigners are unhappy the trust’s proposals still involve other convicted sex offenders living there.

Mr Mead added: “The key to our success so far has been keeping up the pressure and that’s what people living near Felmores need to do.

“We’ve had a march with placards, got 900 people to write letters to Langley House Trust and have 1,800 members on our Facebook campaign group.”

He held a stall promoting the campaign at the village’s summer fete on Saturday, displaying copies of Echo articles on the residents’ opposition to Felmores.