VENDING machines dispensing sex toys and saucy lingerie are set to go into bars across Kent as the Ann Summers business prepares to celebrate 25 years of raunchy home parties for women.

Jacqueline Gold, Kent-based chief executive of Ann Summers, revealed her latest big idea just days after holding a 25th anniversary party for pals Nancy Sorrell, the wife of Vic Reeves, also from Kent, former IT girl Tamara Beckwith and Kate Lawler, the actress and model.

Ms Gold, who lives in Westerham, has catapulted Ann Summers from an £83,000-a-year business to an international operation with a £155million turnover and 141 stores. Kent is reputed to have more than any other county.

She has won a string of accolades, including the "Most Inspirational Businesswoman in the UK" and one of Britain’s "100 Most Influential Women".

She said that her next plan is to introduce vending machines into bars and clubs. They would go into around 500 locations, including Kent. Choice of products would be "more to do with price point and size". She expected the top price to be £10.

"Cigarette machines are closing down and this would fill a gap in the market," she said. "I don’t mean in the toilets, I mean in the bar area." She is also hoping to put Ann Summers’ concessions into department stores.

She was not concerned about possible complaints. "I’ve dealt with objectors all my career, usually people not really understanding what the concept’s about.

"Empowering women between the sheets has been a very positive thing in our society over the last 25 years."