Some women in Plymouth say they no longer feel safe walking alone in the ancient Ham Woods, a tranquil nature reserve that has recently been the subject of police investigations and online reports of attacks.
The quiet woodland, thriving with nature, has become a place of "thuggish behaviour" of late, according to some residents. In June, a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in the woods, and Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed there is an ongoing investigation. The previous summer, a hedgehog was found in the vicinity with "injuries consistent with being set alight," leading to a police investigation.
Residents Share Their Fears
One local woman, who has not visited for months, said: "I feel unsafe going down there alone with my toddler." Another woman who jogs in the woodland said she avoids some areas. She did not want to be named but said: "There's lots of weird men around walking on their own and I don't let my teenage girl come down here alone."
At the start of October, there were claims on Facebook of attacks on women in the Ham Woods area, with one response saying they would 'never' visit again and ended up running home as they didn't feel safe. Others mentioned "out of control dogs" as an additional issue.
Kevin Jenkins, a former regular dog walker, said: "I used to use Ham Woods as a dog walking spot at all times of day or night. I've used it less since multiple reports have appeared online of uncontrolled dogs and bad behaviour from people."
Calls for More Presence and Community Views
Alistair Maunder described Ham Woods as "bigger than you'd think" with "hundreds of parakeets," but said it's "scary at night as you can't see anything." He expressed a desire to see local schools safely utilising the nature reserve more.
Ben Rowe, a Reform councillor for the ward, said "thuggish behaviour shouldn't be happening" and that Ham Woods needs more people visiting regularly, not avoiding the beauty spot. He added: "It's a beautiful area, but not when neglected. There have been reports of incidents and when there are less people coming to places like this, the people that you don't want coming to places like this are more likely to propagate in these areas."
Rowe, who grew up in the area, also suggested improvements: "There are some seating areas, but it would be nice to have a picnic table in the lower end and the state of the paths could be improved. If we could get a PCSO here regularly, they do visit the woodland as part of their beat but not as frequent as it could be."
Mixed Views from Long-Term Residents
At Full Moon Tattoo studio on Ham Green, the general discussion was that "men feel safer than women" walking there, but this "reflects society generally." Reg Williams, 44, who grew up in the area, thinks it was "worse in the 1980s and 1990s." He said: "There have been horrible things going on but it's not specific to Ham Woods at all, it's a society thing. I'd imagine for women it's safer than it was (in the 1980s or 1990s), but it's a sad state of affairs that many women still don't feel safe in this day and age."
Peter Bishop, 70, a long-term resident on the Ham Green side, said: "I've never had any issues living here or in the woods, and I see foxes, hedgehogs, lots of wildlife regularly. All of this housing used to be farmland, but when the area was developed the woodland was kept. There used to be a pub, the Lion and Column, years ago. It's a good community."
In Lower Ham, resident Colin Benwell, along with locals Terry Richards, Rafal Kielkowski and Claire Pidsley, cleaned up an old wall that was "covered in graffiti" via Plymouth Artists Together with council funding. However, a local woman in Lower Ham said she won't visit the woods anymore due to "dogs out of control" and being scared after "what happened to the young girl."
Kate Maguire offered a contrasting view: "I feel perfectly safe walking at any time of the day, early evening. I visit minimum of five days a week with my dog and I love Ham Woods, it's my sanctuary." Rachel Lock said: "I spend a lot of time and hours walking around Ham Woods at all different times from early hours to late evenings and have done for many years and can say I feel quite safe there, lucky to have this on our doorstep."
Police Response
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: "We know that anti-social behaviour (ASB), nuisance crime and feeling can have a big impact, which is why we listen to what residents are concerned about and work with local councils and community groups to solve problems early and locally."
They added: "We take every report of ASB seriously and ask that repeated patterns of ASB be reported to us via our online reporting system - as the information helps us to take action. But always dial 999 in an emergency. Working together we can stop ASB before it escalates or leads to more serious offending and we can make our public spaces safer for everyone."
The spokesperson continued: "Where warnings and prevention doesn't work, we will take robust action. Serious and repetitive ASB will not be tolerated. We want people to feel safe in their community, so if anyone sees ASB taking place please report it to the relevant organisation so that action can be taken. Our goal is to create neighbourhoods where everyone feels safe and respected."
Police added that there is an "ongoing investigation in relation to the incident" in June 2026.
