EXCLUSIVE

SEX-MAD couples are visiting a quiet Huncoat spot for the sordid act of "dogging", it was revealed this week.

An explicit Internet website directs people to the entrance to the Kings Highway where couples make love in cars while others watch and sometimes join in for group sex.

But now Councillor Brendan Shiel has called for the gate to be slammed shut on their lewd activities.

He said residents were concerned that the secluded section of the ancient highway linking Huncoat and Baxenden had not been gated off - 10 months after residents were promised it would be.

A year ago, Huncoat residents complained to councillors about fly-tippers blighting the patch of land, which runs to Huncoat Quarry and then into open countryside.

But now the sexual antics are causing more concern.

The website gives precise directions to the area which it says gives a great view over Accrington and Pendle Hill.

It adds: "Park anywhere along this track, the higher up the better. There is usually at least one car a night, sometimes more."

The site claims that people leave pornographic home-made videos and photos under rocks and tells of one couple in their thirties who love to be filmed.

"Doggers" usually announce their presence by a system of flashing their car lights.

Last March, residents were told a gate would be put up and Lancashire County Council formally approved the plan last month. But it has not yet happened and the website is still online.

Councillor Shiel said: "There is great concern about these unsavoury activities. We just want to know if there will be a gate and if so when."

Lancashire County Council said there had been a delay in getting a Traffic Regulation Order necessary for gates to go up. Hyndburn Council engineers are now trying to get the order.

A Hyndburn Council spokesman said: "We are currently working on proposals to restrict access to Kings Highway by installing a gate at the entrance to the road.

"For this to go ahead a legal order will have to be put in place to allow the highways authority and the police to enforce the restrictions.

"We are discussing the plans with the owners of the quarry and it is hoped that the legal order will be put in place within the next few weeks."

Police said they had received no reports of "dogging" but they would deal with any complaints under public indecency laws.