Angry residents have staged a demonstration in a bid to have a convicted child sex offender removed from their street.
Around 20 homeowners carrying homemade banners protested against pervert Graham Brown being housed near to them when they congregated outside a council building in Musselburgh, East Lothian on Tuesday.
One pensioner said she is now “terrified” to leave her home after learning Brown had been convicted for possessing indecent images of children at a recent hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
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But the OAP added she and the determined residents of the town’s Watt Close will “stop at nothing” to have the 61-year-old sex offender removed from their street.
A second homeowner, who did not wish to be identified, claimed the man is the second child sex offender to have been moved into the same flat in the past year.
She said: “For the sake of our grandchildren other children visiting us and all the other children in proximity of Watts Close this Devil should not be living here.
“This is the second pedo within the last 12 months that East Lothian Council have housed there.
“And this is the second time we have all had to mobilise and try and get one of these paedophiles out of our community.
“It’s sickening what the council are doing to us.”
The pensioner added she has contacted her local MSP Colin Brown in a bid to raise support as well as notifying the council of the residents plans to protest.
A second elderly homeowner, who did not wish to named, said: “I’m not the only one in the street, but I’m terrified to leave my home now just in case I bump into him.
“I also have grandchildren who visit me regularly but I’ve had to tell them they can’t come to see me at the moment - it really is heart-breaking.
“This is a very quiet street and all the residents are a really close knit community.
“It just doesn’t seem fair or suitable to have him here as there quite a few elderly people and families with children.
“We may be few, but we are determined and will stop at nothing to have him moved somewhere more suitable.”
Graham Brown pleaded guilty to possessing 14 child abuse videos over a ten month period when he appeared at the capital’s sheriff court on August 19.
The court was told police raided his home last year where they found 11 movies rated at Category A - the most depraved end of the scale - and three Category B films stored on a laptop.
The court heard the vile collection of images depicted young children being raped by adults.
Sheriff Chris Dickson placed Brown on the Sex Offenders Register and deferred sentence for reports to be prepared to next month.
An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Public safety is of paramount importance and the council works closely with our partner agencies to ensure that Scottish Government guidance is followed when allocating tenancies and in relation to the safe management of neighbourhoods.
“Under Data Protection rules we cannot comment on specific cases.”
