Beth Roulston, 45, (pictured) has been accused by neighbours in her well-heeled Somerset village of running a brothel
The woman accused of running a brothel in a real-life Vicar of Dibley village scoffed at the rumours today and said: 'It's malicious gossip spread by nosey neighbours.'
Mother of one Beth Roulston denied running a drugs and vice den in sleepy Marston Magna in Somerset and said the 'ridiculous' claims had been concocted by 'people with nothing better to do'.
She said: 'I had to pick myself off the floor from laughing at some of the outlandish claims. They are absolutely ridiculous.
'A friend of mine sent me a link to the story and said 'your nosy neighbours are taking the mickey aren't they?!'
'Initially I was really angry but then I processed it and saw the funny side of it.
'The upshot is I just find it really amusing. What on Earth do these neighbours think happens in here? Take a look yourself, where is this long line of men queuing up for my services?
The tiny village - mentioned in the Doomsday Book and novel The English Patient - does not even have a shop and the local pub only opens for six hours a day.
A neighbour told the parish council meeting that Ms Roulston, a former Royal Navy Engineer, has been selling sex from her one bedroom bungalow (pictured) in the village
The picturesque village of Marston Magna - mentioned in the Doomsday Book and novel The English Patient - does not even have a shop and the local pub only opens for six hours a day
Ms Roulston, a mum of one, denied running a drugs and vice den in sleepy Marston Magna and said the 'ridiculous' claims had been concocted by 'people with nothing better to do'
Yet since last summer, among the thatched cottages and 14th century Church of St Mary, a house of ill repute has been open for business, according to whispers among its 500-strong population.
Details of the scandal emerged publicly at a recent parish council meeting - which had been due to discuss unsafe manholes and the state of paths.
Villagers have since reported that over the last six months they have seen men of all ages turning up at a bungalow throughout the day, some carrying bouquets of flowers and others spraying themselves liberally with deodorant on the doorstep.
But the woman at the centre of the rumours, Ms Roulston, a 45-year-old former Royal Navy aircraft engineer, honoured for her service during the Balkans war who has met the Duchess of Kent was taken aback at the suggestion.
Speaking from her one-bedroom bungalow she shares with her cat, Ms Roulston said: 'It's nothing but malicious gossip by people who have nothing better to do. They're bullies to be honest.
'Some of the neighbours don't seem to like me for whatever reason and haven't been shy letting me know.
'It feels like they watch my every move, seeing who I'm with and what I'm doing.
'Yes I do have men back, but I used to be in the Royal Navy, most of my friends are male.
'Some of those I bring back I've been seeing but there's nothing illegal about that and to suggest I'm running a brothel is twisted.
'And drugs! Apparently I'm also in to them. Look around, where are the drugs paraphernalia? Where is the smell of weed?
'There isn't any of that because it's just not true.
'It's a case of people with too much time on their hands in a tiny place where nothing ever happens having to invent something worth talking about!'
But the peace in the rural idyll of the Somerset village, with just 500 people living there, has been shattered by rumours that a house of ill repute has been operating in the village
Residents living near St Mary's Church in the village of Marston Magna (pictured) say they have seen men coming and going from Ms Roulston's house carrying flowers and deodorant
Ms Roulston, originally from Kent, said she moved to the property, which is located in a quiet close with a communal garden, in 2012 after the deaths of her sister and parents to cancer.
Sitting down on a couch cluttered with cushions she points to pictures of her 21-year-old daughter on the wall and talks proudly of how she went to a nearby boarding school and is training to be an accountant.
Returning to the subject of her
