A grandmother has spoken of her shock after she and her seven-year-old granddaughter stumbled upon a notorious outdoor sex spot near the M62, finding used condoms, needles and lubricant sachets scattered in the woodland.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was walking near Brighouse on a Sunday afternoon when she came across the discarded items in woods close to a well-known layby on Wakefield Road, near junction 25 of the M62. The site has long been recognised as a meeting place for men seeking outdoor sexual encounters and has prompted numerous complaints over the years. The woodland sits near the Cosy Cabin café, formerly known as Big Baps café.
Call for public space protection order
The grandmother has demanded that West Yorkshire Police and Calderdale Council take action, and has already raised the matter with local Brighouse councillors. She said: "I think it is high time there is a public space protection order to give both police and council more powers to stop this kind of behaviour. I believe this has worked in other areas with similar issues. People in Brighouse don't want to have this woodland as a no-go-zone where you can't go for a walk or go angling without fearing public indecency."
She told Yorkshire Live that men from "out of the area" were pulling up in the bustling layby to engage in "lurid acts" in the adjacent woods. "There has been an increased presence of police at the site and my understanding is Calderdale Council community safety team are looking into the matter."
Shocking discovery on family walk
Describing the incident, she said: "I was walking in the woodland with my grand daughter aged seven. We were unaware of the prolific nature of this site. We went for a walk to the fishing lake. We saw used condoms, needles and sachets of lubricants on the ground. The state of the woodland is abysmal - it has become a cesspit of litter."
She added that as they turned around, fishermen at the lake advised them to turn back. "Further ahead in the distance I could see men sitting with their hoods up sat in the undergrowth and bushes. When we reached the main road again I saw the layby was full of cars on both sides of the road, including many liveried vans."
She described witnessing men entering and leaving the woods in a continuous cycle, with one man climbing over the barrier and driving off, only for another to pull in and head into the woodland on foot. "It's a revolving door of constant activity. It's shocking to see such lurid acts take place so close to the main road. Later that week I was queuing in standstill traffic on Wakefield Road, and I happened to glance over and I could see two men at it all within visible distance from the main road."
Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Police have been approached for comment.
