It is the kind of thing that you would expect to find in Manchester and London, but why not here Chris Brown, Simply Pleasure

It claims to be one of the biggest sex shops in the world.

But the Simply Pleasure superstore is not located in Amsterdam's red light district or on a backstreet in Soho.

It sits just off a major roundabout in Oldham.

There was considerable opposition to the 3,000 sq ft store opening on Park Road in a run-down area of the town.

Councillors spoke of "social devastation" and religious leaders feared the morals of the town would be corrupted.

To many, Oldham may not be the obvious choice to open such a shop.

But business development director Chris Brown rejects the notion that Oldhamers are stuffy reactionaries.

Simply Pleasure bosses say it chiefly attracts single women

"It is the kind of thing that you would expect to find in Manchester and London, but why not here?" he told BBC News Online.

"We are North West-based and we want to get it right and do it in our own area," he said.

The company wants to extend its business across the country.

Mr Brown says the whole point of the "one stop shop" idea is to take some of the sleaze out of the sex industry.

So out go the blacked-out windows.

Single males

"It's a bright, vibrant building and the staff are well trained," he said.

"Seventy four per cent of our customers are actually single females coming in to buy for themselves by just wandering in off the street, which is unheard of in this industry.

The shop is located in Oldham

"A further 22% are couples coming in together and buying things together. It is a very small percentage of single males coming in."

The shop took �15,000 on its opening day, and �40,000 in the first week.

But it has been targeted by vandals - last week a window was smashed on the Park Road premises.

Mr Brown said: "We don't know who it was. We don't know if it's something to do with us in the shop or if it's just vandalism."

The �3,000 bed

Security has now been increased.

Inside, the shop offers the expected magazines and videos.

There are also books on massage, items of lingerie, a board game called Monogamy.