THE City of London Corporation has admitted it has no idea how many crimes have been reported in the forest, but is still going ahead with discussions regarding the future of a horse patrol service, used to deter criminal activity.

Last week the Guardian reported that a reduction in the number of mounted keepers had caused problems for users of the forest.

But the City of London said it has kept no record of these incidents reported to them.

Now, forest users fear crime will increase even more if the City of London stops the mounted keeper service altogether, without having any idea how bad the situation is already.

Hayley Rhodes, 45 from Epping New Road, Buckhurst Hill regularly rides her horse through the forest.

She said: "I had an incident with a dangerous dog which went to court. The dog was yapping round my horses legs, jumping up and barking. I asked the guy to get it out of the way and he was very rude to me.

"A keeper came straight away and they managed to find the guy in the car park, so it's an important service to have.

"Crime has definitely increased and dog incidents are much worse. A couple of times I have been quite scared. I rarely see keepers these days, there are so few around. There used to be a time when you would see someone every time you went out and you could ride with them and have a chat."

Fiona Daniels, 46 from Chingford was flashed by a man in the forest earlier this year.

She said: "If mounted keepers are reduced, incidents such as flashing will increase. They should never have reduced the number from five to two. It doesn't fill dog walkers with confidence.

"The guy who flashed me actually chased me and I didn't see any sign of forest keepers around. They didn't even send someone out to me when I reported it.

"The fact they might reduce the number of keepers is ridiculous, a lot of people are worried about this."

Lorraine Allen, 38, keeps her horse at High Beech and often rides in the forest.

She said: "I have reported dangerous things, like recently kids tying string across the tracks, which would be at a horses eye level. Luckily a cyclist hit it just in front of me and stopped any incident."

Former Chairman of the Epping Forest Riders Association (EFRA), Adrian Liddle said: "EFRA is in the awkward situation in that without knowing what the official position is regarding the mounted keepers, it cannot campaign effectively for their continuation."

A spokeswoman from the City of London Corporation said they were still deciding the future of mounted keepers and would inform forest users once a decision had been made.

She added: "The City of London Corporation uses a range of methods to ensure that the forest is safe for all users. In addition to mounted keepers, forest keepers patrol on foot, by bicycle, quad bikes and in vans."