A quiet Norfolk village is up in arms after fleets of helicopters ferry wealthy customers to shop at their posh delicatessen.
Locals say they have been forced to shield their food from leaves and rubbish being blown up by landing choppers bringing customers toThornham Deli, which charges £16.25 for a fish finger sandwich.
Its director, Janie Thompson, has been accused of ‘bullying’ and ignoring concerns expressed by her neighbours.
On the morning of Saturday October 11, seven helicopters landed in a field behind the shop so the pilots and passengers could have brunch at the eatery.
Ms Thompson proudly posted this video on the shop’s Facebook page saying: ‘Just your average deli breakfast…with a casual helicopter flyby.
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‘Which ride are you taking – straight to brunch or straight to the skies.’
The deli has posted videos of helicopters swinging looping the deli with Back Sabbath’s Paranoid blaring in the background in scenes more reminiscent of the Vietnam war than North West Norfolk.
Locals joked on Facebook: ‘Get to da choppa. We’re out of focaccia!’
It emerged that villagers had complained to Thornham Parish Council about the number of helicopters stopping at the deli presumably for their £6.95 tomato ketchup.
Andrew Jamieson, a parish, borough and county councillor, said: ‘Residents have raised the landing and taking off of helicopters behind the Deli citing noise pollution, they fly in low over the houses, play area and hall, and there’s no one supervising the landings when there are dogs and children about the place.
‘We agreed at the parish council we should liaise with the landowner to review the numbers landing and ensure that there are sufficient safety assessments in place.’
Ms Thompson defended the right of her customers arriving by helicopter and hit back at complainants, saying: ‘Surely there’s a lot more going on in Thornham than complaining about this. They need to get a life.’
She also insisted that it is not a regular occurrence and that the field was private so no one should be on it when aircrafts were landing or taking off.
One week after the seven helicopters, on Saturday October 18, a post was shared on the shop’s Facebook page with pictures of the Eastern Daily Press coverage of the row.
The post said: ‘Front page and centre spread [followed by three muscle emojis].
‘Confirming: TD welcomes ALL customers, whatever their mode of transport, local and distant – whether it’s just for a newspaper, a coffee or a full English – we welcome all.’
What followed were angry comments from customers.
One woman commented: ‘My husband and I were customers a few weeks ago sitting outside at the back of the Deli when two helicopters landed. They set down pretty close so not only was it very noisy but we had to cover our drinks and food to stop leaves and other debris from spoiling our brunch.
‘We left earlier than we intended as a result. We felt the helicopters could have landed on the other side of the field so as not to spoil other diners’ experience.’
Another customer has changed their mind on the shop and said: ‘Have to say we’ve only been once – was nice but very overpriced in the way everything is in that part of Norfolk.
‘The owners entitled and arrogant response puts me off from visiting again. Not good to be clearly not working with your local community but against them and relishing it by publishing the article as some kind of victory. Poor taste.’
However, one regular was positive about the helicopter visits: ‘We visit here all the time when staying in North Norfolk and have also stayed in the rooms above the deli which are gorgeous.
‘We haven’t been there when a helicopter has landed but wow! How exciting!’
The Thornham Parish Council refused to comment.
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