Officials chop down 6000 trees to prevent strangers having sex in the woods
SIX thousand trees were chopped down at a British beauty spot, partly to discourage strangers who were regularly having sex in the woods, it emerged Tuesday.
The tree felling program was ordered initially by the local government after a health and safety survey of the 12-hectare area in Darwen, northwest England, area newspaper the Lancashire Telegraph reported.
The survey found the trees were old and at risk of falling on the A666 road, known locally as The Devil's Highway.
But Sergeant Mark Wilson, from the neighbourhood policing team, told the Lancashire Telegraph that cutting the trees would help reduce incidents of "dogging," which is British slang for strangers having sex in a semi-public place while others look on.
Sergeant Wilson said: “It’s an on-going problem and very worrying for members of the public.
“It’s far too early to tell if cutting the trees back has had any impact on the dogging situation, but we’ll be paying regular attention to the area.”
Area councilor Jean Rigby said it had quietened down a lot since the felling program.