Clampdown is promised on dogging gatherings (From Ledbury Reporter)

Clampdown is promised on dogging gatherings

12:00pm Thursday 24th May 2012 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

POLICE and council officials are clamping down on an infamous dogging area.

Brockeridge Common in Ripple is being advertised on the internet as somewhere for people to meet and have sex.

Users of the site are parking on a layby on the A38 and then jumping over a fence into a wooded area.

A spokesman for Tewkesbury Borough Council said the illegal activity at the site is causing concerns for residents.

Talks have taken place between police, council officers and Gloucestershire Highways and action is being promised.

The site will be closely monitored by police and the council is working with the land owner to encourage clearance of the land to make the site more visible from the road.

Residents are also being asked to report any anti-social behaviour to the police and any cases of littering or fly tipping to the council.

Inspector Owen Hughes, of Gloucestershire Police, said: “I would like to reassure residents that local officers are carrying out patrols in the area at varying times of the day and we will continue to work closely with our partners at the council to come up with longer term solutions to the problem.

“Please talk to the local policing team about any concerns you may have or if you witness any illegal or suspicious activity please report it to police immediately.”

Tewkesbury Borough Council’s spokesman for clean and green environment Jim Mason said: “We will work alongside other local agencies to crack down on this antisocial behaviour.

“As well as the site being used for indecent behaviour, we have reports of lorry drivers using the larger lay-by on the A38 at Ripple as a public toilet, which again is not acceptable.”