‘Trolls’ deluge couple with poison pen letters accusing them of attracting ‘scantily-clad maskless chavs’ to pretty Sussex town by opening cake shop
- George Johnson, 43, and Lily Trunfull, 29, say they received hateful comments
- The couple’s cafe, LG Cafe, is located in the town of Arundel in west Sussex
- Letters sent to them described LG Cafe customers as ‘scantily clad maskless chavs’, ‘rats’ and of bringing ‘the wrong type of people to our distinguished town’
A couple say trolls have bombarded them with vicious letters accusing their cake shop of bringing ‘scantily clad maskless chavs’ to a small historical town.
George Johnson, 43, and partner Lily Trunfull, 29, say they have received hundreds of hateful comments after starting up LG Cafe in the town of Arundel, west Sussex two years ago.
Poison pen letters sent to them describe customers as ‘rats’, accusing the business of attracting the ‘wrong type of people’ to Arundel.
The couple say while they believe it to be a minority of locals and local businesses, they have gone to police after the amount of hate mail suddenly shot up in recent months.
The small town is on the edge of the South Downs National Park and boasts the second highest number of listed buildings in West Sussex.
LG Cafe is just half a mile from the castle displays love hearts outside that say things like ‘donut forget about me’, ‘you’re yum’, and ‘treat yo’self’.
Concerned customers have told the couple they have been filmed and photographed outside queuing by the trolls.
George Johnson, 43, and partner Lily Trunfull, 29, say they have received hundreds of hateful comments after starting up their cake and coffee shop LG Cafe in the town of Arundel,west Sussex two years ago
Poison pen letters sent to them have described customers as ‘scantily clad maskless chavs’ and ‘rats’, accusing the business of attracting the ‘wrong type of people’ to Arundel
The small town is on the edge of the South Downs National Park and boasts the second highest number of listed buildings in West Sussex
Pictured: Some of the mail the couple have received, put up in the window of LG Cafe
ARUNDEL: MARKET TOWN BOASTING HISTORIC CATHEDRAL AND CASTLE
Arundel began as an inland port and key market town during Roman and Saxon times.
Two of the town’s most notable and distinguished features are its Gothic cathedral and Arundel Castle, the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk set in 40 acres of sweeping grounds and gardens.
Parts of the castle, one of the great treasure houses of England, date back to 1068, shortly after the Normans landed in the country.
William the Conqueror gave Arundel, along with a third of Sussex, to Roger de Montgomery as a thank you for his aid during the Norman Conquest, on the understanding he would erect a castle for defence.
The castle is seasonally open to visitors, and is home to The Collector Earl’s Garden and priceless works of art.
Neighbouring the castle is the Parish Church of St. Nicholas, built in 1380, the western portion of which came under the jurisdiction of the Church of England during the Reformation.
But, notably, its eastern portion, The Fitzalan Chapel, stayed as the property of the Duke of Norfolk, and is Roman Catholic.
The public can access The Fitzalan Chapel through the Castle Gardens.
Ms Trunfull, from Lewes, and Mr Johnson, from Hastings, are hardly strangers to Arundel, which also boasts a Roman Catholic cathedral and is just miles from the 17th century stately home of Goodwood, owned by the Duke of Richmond.
After starting the cake and coffee cafe two years ago, and especially in the last couple of months, they’ve received a deluge of hate mail.
Ms Trunfull said: ‘It was just a few snide comments here and there, like ”who brought the rats into the town, oh it’s that cake shop”.
‘It’s a small, very vicious group of locals and local businesses that nip away online and now they’ve got their teeth into it.
‘We could hear noises outside just now and we could hear two old women slagging us off and saying how we’re bringing in the wrong type of customers into the town and definitely not the type of people they want in the town.
‘There are plenty of other coffee shops open selling coffee and cakes so we’re no different doing what we’re trying to do to survive.
‘But because we’re not local, and the customers aren’t local, they think we bring the wrong people in.
‘I’m a Sussex girl. I’m not any different from any of the rest. Some of them have the idea of what they want Arundel to be. If you don’t fit into the box, you’re not welcome.’
Some social media posts blame the lack of coronavirus policies – a claim they deny.
The couple say like other open coffee shops and restaurants they are only operating by takeaway.
They’ve also said police have said they’ve gone ‘over the top’ with Covid security by only serving people through a hatch outside and installing social distancing markers outside the store.
LG Cafe is just half a mile from the castle displays love hearts outside that say things like ‘donut forget about me’, ‘you’re yum’, and ‘treat yo’self’
Mr Johnson, who also runs an ice cream parlour in town, compared the feeling to 2007 film Hot Fuzz, starring Simon Pegg, about a couple of police officers dealing with a villainous neighbourhood watch society.
He said: ‘Certain people have a very old fashioned way of thinking.
‘I think there’s a certain percentage of the town that are still living in the sixteenth century.
‘And obviously as we became established and busier, jealousy comes into it.
‘It’s all very Hot Fuzz vibes we’re getting.
‘But the problem is, Arundel has a massive castle. It’s going to encourage tourists to come, and things have to change.
‘The high street is decimated – it’s going to be decimated for years. You have to embrace businesses that are trying to get through it.
‘I’ve had a couple of councillors come to me, and they’ve said they’ve tried to speak to certain individuals and they’re completely ignoring it.’
‘The high street is decimated – it’s going to be decimated for years. You have to embrace businesses that are trying to get through it,’ said Mr Johnson
‘We do feel sorry for the people trolling us because it’s so aggressive and so nasty they must have something going on in their lives that would make them be so horrible,’ he added
He added: ‘We’ve built two successful businesses in Arundel. We’re not going anywhere.
‘The only way you can fight hate is with love. Love and peace, that’s what we’re about.’
Ms Trunfull added: ‘The police are involved and they’ve got the letters and are taking it very seriously.
‘We do feel sorry for the people trolling us because it’s so aggressive and so nasty they must have something going on in their lives that would make them be so horrible.
‘Bullying and harassment aren’t right.
And Mr Johnson said: ‘We love Arundel, it’s a beautiful little town, we’ve created our lives and businesses here. The level of hatred these people bring is quite scary.
‘It is a small percentage, but they’re so vocal with it.
‘We do have much support and we do thank our lucky stars because they’re going to get us through this.
‘It only makes us stronger.
‘We just want to go back to making cakes. We love what we do. We wouldn’t get up at 5am to make yum yums if we didn’t love it.’
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