Fake snow machine causes a storm as Guy Ritchie's neighbours create party noise

 
Both barrels: an employee of Guy Ritchie, pictured with fiancée Jacqui Ainsley, complained about noise from a snow machine at a John Lewis festive preview next to his home in Fitzroy Square
Simon Neville4 July 2014

If you feel you really must have a Christmas Party in high summer, just don’t do it near Guy Ritchie.

The film director’s household failed to get into the festive spirit when John Lewis hosted a preview, designed to showcase what bosses hope will be this year’s seasonal bestsellers, next door to his £7 million Fitzroy Square home.

As organisers decked the halls with tinsel, Christmas trees and mince pies, they were confronted by a member of Ritchie's staff complaining about the noise of an industrial fake snow machine, which was being used to transform the view from the three-storey townhouse into a winter wonderland.

A source told the Standard: “Workers had been setting up and started spraying a large window. Suddenly a man appeared demanding to know how long the machine would be on for because it was too noisy.

“This was in the middle of the day, not late at night or anything, so they clearly weren’t in a very festive mood.”

The Ritchie household’s displeasure could be because his fiancée, model Jacqui Ainsley, 32, was due to give birth any day to their third child together.

The couple have two children: Rafael, three, and 18-month-old Rivka. Ritchie, 45, is also parent to Rocco, 13, with former wife Madonna, and David, eight, who the couple adopted from Malawi.

A spokesman for Ritchie declined to comment about Tuesday’s incident. A John Lewis spokeswoman said there was no formal complaint. “We are grateful to the venue’s neighbours for being so accommodating during the event,” she added

It is not the first time the Sherlock director has suffered property woes. In 2011 the house in the square was overrun with squatters and he had to obtain a court order to have them removed. The occupants operated an open-house policy, offering free classes, and threw a party when they left, with some donning Vinnie Jones masks as bailiffs removed them.

Several retailers are hosting Christmas events during the summer, and the house is expected to be used later this month by Argos.

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