Vicar bans 'violent' Bean filming at his church

A vicar has banned the actor Sean Bean from using his picturesque church for his latest movie because he objected to its violence and bad language.

The Rev Nick Bromfield had been approached by Vertigo Films, who thought the 1,000-year-old St Mary the Virgin Church, in St Briavels, Gloucestershire would be the perfect location for part of the company's new vigilante movie, The Outlaw, which also stars Bob Hoskins.

But after checking out the film's director Nick Love's gangster film, The Business, and reading more about The Outlaw's plot - the vicar gave the Hollywood A-listers their marching orders. "[The Business] appalled me with its brutality and violence particularly towards women. There were child shootings, drug abuse - the whole caboodle. It became pretty clear from the synopsis that The Outlaw was a film of a similar genre, and exceptionally violent."

The vicar has now called on other churches in the region to follow his lead. But he has offered an olive branch to the Hollywood stars and invited them around to the vicarage for afternoon tea. "I'm a big fan of Sean Bean and I would love it - as Kevin Keegan used to say - if he and Bob Hoskins, if they are still in the area, came to church on Sunday. It would be marvellous" "They could all come, Mr Love as well. I would reserve them some pews and they would then be invited in for coffee, biscuits and cakes."

A spokeswoman for Vertigo Films said that the company was now looking for other locations. "We respect his decision," she said. "He wasn't a Nick Love fan for whatever reason and we're now looking for other locations to film." Filming on The Outlaw will begin in a few weeks in Wales and Gloucestershire.