Steven Crawford rented out silicone dummy called Faith in a quiet village in Scotland for £60 an hour before neighbours rebelled and he was forced to close his venture down
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A UK sex doll brothel was forced to close just days after opening due to complaints from creeped out neighbours.
The owner, Steven Crawford, had been renting out a silicone dummy named Faith for £60 an hour in a quiet village in Scotland before locals rebelled.
Mr Crawford, then 25, then set up rebound plans to rent out the lifelike sex doll rather than allowing customers to use it in his home. He told the Daily Record at the time in 2018: "Unfortunately I have upset a few neighbours, but they'll notice I don't have any visitors and I never really intended to."
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He added: "I would still hire out the doll at an agreed meeting point. Whatever they are comfortable with."
Mr Crawford started the venture in February 2018, offering time with the doll at his semi-detached home in the peaceful village of Quarter, Lanarkshire. Despite the controversy, he bagged two clients before he was forced to shut down days later.
This followed the closure of the UK's first sex doll brothel, Lovedoll UK, which was evicted from a business park in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear a week before. And that came a year after Europe's first such establishment shut down in Barcelona just a month after opening.
Mr Crawford is determined to make his business a success, stating: "My doll is called Faith as in 'Faith I will succeed'."
"If someone thinks, 'He's sleazy', they're absolutely entitled to think that but I really don't have any qualms about it."
Companies House shows that 'Date a Doll Services Limited', his company, was dissolved in March 2019.
He had planned to accept punters from 9am to 9pm so as not to disturb anyone in unsociable hours.
Mr Crawford purchased his blonde sex doll for £1,800 from supplier Lovedoll UK.
He advertised his service on the classified ad site Craigslist as "Britain's first sex doll brothel".
Mr Crawford said: "I've had in the region of 50 enquiries and my customers were in the 30-40 age bracket."
When asked if he has had sex with his doll, Mr Crawford said: "Does a chef taste his own food? I thought I'll need to make sure it's all right. Absolutely."
"But I know what it's like now and it's just a needless risk to the product.
"I don't want her suffering too much wear and tear and for me it's all about the money."
At the time, South Lanarkshire Council confirmed they would be investigating to ensure public health is protected.
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