Council chiefs have axed 6,000 trees at a beauty spot – to stop couples romping in the woods. The conifers were felled on the 12-hectare site after it became a notorious hot-spot for “doggers” – people who like to have sex with strangers while being watched.
A huge expanse of forest was cleared alongside the busy A666 at Darwen, Lancs, following a health and safety survey. It found that some of the trees, planted after the Second World War, were in danger of falling down.
But police and councilors have admitted the cull was also ordered to discourage kinky visitors.
And the move has enraged civic groups and environmentalists.
Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s awful that a public green space, an asset to the local community, has been mindlessly destroyed. If the law was enforced properly there would be no need to chop down these trees.”