Roy "Chubby" Brown is a controversial comedian and he was scheduled to perform in October at Festival Hall in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. The show had been booked in with the venue since November last year, with £700 spent on promo by Chubby, but the leader of Ashfield District Council, Councillor Cheryl Butler was said to have seen a poster for Chubby's show and "went mad" forcing Ashfield District Council to pull the plug - saying it was not a booking "they wished to be associated with".

Many Kirkby residents have taken to social media to express their anger towards Ashfield District Council and the authoritarian attack on freedom of speech by its Labour leader, Councillor Butler.

One resident said on Facebook: "Not a fan myself but it goes beyond the pale banning a comedian because he tells s few risqué jokes. Read his autobiography, he is a very different person offstage, ADC are out of order."

Another said: "I'm not a fan of Chubby Brown but this is daft. What happened to people being able to make their own choices? The only people who would see it are the ones who would have brought tickets and therefore wouldn't have been offended by his humor, this council seriously needs to get a grip and fast."

If you feel that the residents of Ashfield should be allowed to make their own decisions on which entertainers they would like to see in the town then please sign this petition. We need to remind the council that we live in the UK and not North Korea!