Russell Brand has been forced to take down metal fencing outside his village pub on the orders of the council.

The comedian and actor installed the security fencing, covered with a hessian fabric, outside the Crown Inn in Pishill on Sunday (September 17).

It came the day after allegations of rape, sexual assaults, and emotional abuse were made public against him in a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.

READ MORE: Villagers fury over "gargantuan" solar farm that will "industrialise Green Belt"

Mr Brand, 48, has denied the allegations, and said his relationships were "always consensual".

Oxford Mail: The gated entrance to Mr Brand’s pub, the Crown Inn in Pishill, has been blocked with security

But he has been forced to remove the fencing outside his pub after South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, said it was a breach of planning control.

A council spokeswoman said: “Following an investigation from our planning enforcement team, the fencing on-site at The Crown Inn, Pishill, has now been removed.

“As the fencing no longer presents a breach of planning control, we will not be pursuing this matter further.”

Oxford Mail: Russell Brand

The grade II-listed pub near Henley has been temporarily closed since Mr Brand and his wife Laura took it over in March 2020.

An eyewitness who spotted the fencing being installed said it felt like the pub had been “locked down.”

The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “When we slowed down to look, the man putting it up stopped to look at us...

“I think because he’s inside, they don’t want any prying eyes.”