ANGRY residents say a popular beauty spot near their homes has become a no-go zone for families after it started being used as a ‘dogging’ site.

People living in the area around Forest School, in Snaresbrook, have called for action to stop men using Hollow Ponds and nearby streets as a meeting place for sex.

They said they feel increasingly intimidated by ‘doggers’ who park outside their houses at all hours of the day and night, leaving used condoms, and other rubbish strewn across the road and in the woods.

Mum-of-three Shirley Spanjar, of The Forest - said: “It is just deeply unsettling having men sitting outside your house at all hours of the day and night looking to hook up with each other for sex.

“I work at Forest School, and you often see men meeting around here even when children are leaving at the end of the day.

“It’s intimidating, and my 30-year-old daughter now has to get a cab right to our front door rather than walking home after a night out, because she doesn’t feel safe.

“There are always men in the woods, and they leave all sorts of rubbish, such as used condoms and tissues hanging from the bushes which is not very nice.”

The area has become so popular with doggers that it has been listed on a gay website as one of the best meeting places in London for sex.

Residents claim the police and the City of London Corporation - which maintains the forest - are not taking the problem seriously enough and want increased patrols of the area to deter doggers.

Father-of-one Marcus Cliff-Hodges said: “We use the ponds area for cycling, and there is all sorts of detritus of a sexual nature left over there which you don’t want children to see.”

Epping Forest superintendant Paul Thomson said staff responsible for the Forest were aware of the issue and were working closely with police and Redbridge councillors to ‘manage the impact of this activity on visitors’.

He added: “While Forest Keepers have undertaken prosecutions for indecency in the past, there is a clear need to reflect recent Association of Chief Police Officer Guidance on the effective management of areas such as Hollow Ponds.”

A police spokeswoman said: "Forest Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) patrol the Hollow Ponds area on a regular basis together with partner agencies and LGBT representatives in an attempt to reassure the local community and conduct crime patrols".

"Regular patrols allow police to identify local issues. Patrols within the area will continue and will include joint patrols with SNT from Wood Street ward and Wanstead Wards."