The following public announcement has been put out by the proprietors of the Fallen Angel Bookshop in Lewes, Sussex and has been reproduced exactl;y as received. Christian fundamentalist have continued a campaign of persecution and propaganda in the area with the aid of The Guardian newspaper and other occult-bashing media over the past several years. It was only a matter of time before something life-threatening occurred and it is only by the grace of the gods that people were not harmed. For the full background on how such a criminal act became prefectly predictable read the S.A.F.F.'s publication LEWES SATANIC DEACH CURSE FRAUD (ISBN 1872132022 £4.95 including post.) which gives a blow by blow account of how the fundies are creating social hatred and the provocation of minority cultures in the Lewes area. When reading this be aware that both the Lewes Police and the local council were made fully aware of the dangers in 1997 but have, as in the other cases where bookshops were firebombed, not tak en the matter seriously and allowed fundamentalists to work themselves up. Our founder specifically and publicly warned of the danger of arson attacks like this in Lewes as long ago as 1997.

The Fallen Angel New Age / Occult Bookshop opened on Good Friday, April 1st 1997. Since its opening the Fallen Angel has experienced some hostility from Evangelical Christians who are well organised and active in the town, which since the reign of Bloody Mary has developed a reputation for militant Protestantism. There is not scope here to give a history of opposition generated against the Fallen Angel. The shop is closed each Sunday and Monday. On the morning of Monday 28th February 2000, a loyal customer walking down Fisher Street noticed that the letter box of the Fallen Angel had been severely tampered with and what looked like to be an incendiary device placed inside. The customer waved down a police car travelling along Fisher Street and the incendiary device was treated and taken away by the Police. Unfortunately the owners of the shop, Chris and Richard Farah- Mills were not contacted by the Police , as the shop was closed for the day the owners were not aware of the danger to their property. On Tuesday morning, 29th February 2000, Chris Farah-Mills arrived in Lewes to open the shop as usual. Chris found the damaged letter box, and some newspapers and visible evidence such as burnt matches, indicating that a ( second ) attempt had been made to set fire to the shop. Chris contacted the Police and neighbouring shopkeepers told Chris about the device discovered the morning of the day before. Fisher Street in Lewes is fairly busy, even after shop closing time as it contains a couple of pubs and takeaways food outlets. The shop has residential accommodation above it , and the occupants are not connected to the Fallen Angel. The buildings in the street are Tudor, partly timbered and fire could devastate them very quickly The arson attempts are therefore endangered the lives of residents, passers-by and fire fighters as well as being another despicable attack on a legitimate business venture. The above is in my capacity as friend to the owners of the Fallen Angel and customer of the shop: Mike Shankland, e mail MShank7448@gol.com