Bolsover 'hotbed of Satanism' claims dismissed

Satanists have dismissed claims that a Derbyshire district is a "hotbed of Satanism" or the "Satanic capital of Britain".

In the most recent census, 17 people in Bolsover wrote Satanism as their religion.

This suggested it had the highest concentration of Satanists in England and Wales.

But the Church of Satan believes many people had lied on their census forms because they "think it is funny".

Priestess Serena Malone, administrator for the Church of Satan, said: "We tend to think someone is playing a prank here.

"While we have many members throughout the UK, that area does not have any exceptional concentration of our adherents."

The Church of Satan said it does not give out statistics on where its members are based, because "many bigoted people still see us as some form of threat".

The organisation was established in San Francisco in 1966, and says its members are atheists and do not worship the devil.

However, Satanism is a broad term and many other people may identify themselves as Satanists.

Bolsover District Council also believes the census results are not reliable.

Ken Walker, chairman of the council, said he had not heard of Satanic activity in the area.

"There's the usual traditional harvest festivals or flower festival, but that's more or less a fundraising job for the churches," he said.

"I think it's a load of rubbish."

The district of Bolsover includes the towns of Bolsover and Shirebrook and several villages.

There are many former mining communities in the district and the area's MP Dennis Skinner, a former miner, is nicknamed The Beast of Bolsover because of his outspokenness.

A total of 1,893 people wrote Satanism as their religion in the 2011 census.

In Bristol, 34 people said Satanism was their religion - the highest number out of anywhere in England and Wales.

However, Bristol has a higher population than Bolsover, so the concentration was lower.

Derbyshire Constabulary said it was not aware of any incidents reported in Bolsover - or anywhere else - which could be connected to Satanism.