THE row over ‘doggers’ using a Snaresbrook recreation spot for sex in public has escalated after councillors furiously denied that they supported the current ‘lax approach’.

Last week Epping Forest superintendent Paul Thomson who controls Hollow Ponds suggested that he was working closely with councillors to ‘manage the impact of this activity on visitors’, after the Guardian reported on resident’s concerns.

But this week all three councillors for Snaresbrook have slammed Mr Thomson’s handling of the issue.

In a joint letter they said: “At our last meeting with the Corporation of London in June, we made it clear that we do not support the lax, 'blind eye' approach which Mr Thomson seems to favour.

"To 'manage the impact' of an unacceptable activity just will not do. As your article portrays, residents expect the problem to be dealt with properly and we support them.

"We hope, too, that the police will not feel constrained by pressure from the Corporation. We encourage the police to act and whatever they can do to rid the area of this activity will be widely welcomed.

"The current approach expressed by Mr Thomson must be replaced by a much tougher and more effective line.

Mr Thomson told the Guardian that forest keepers followed Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidance on how to deal with people having sex in public.

A spokeswoman for ACPO refused to give details of the guidelines, claiming that access to them was 'restricted' to the public - but the Guardian has since found them published on the Metropolitan Police website.

The guidelines direct officers to deal with sex in public places in three stages before any arrests are made. The first is to 'inform and dissuade' the people involved, the second introduces preventative measures - such as restricting the opening hours of carparks - with 'preventative patrolling' as the final option.