The infamous Dogging car park at Hogs Back
Surrey’s rural locations and secluded spots are harbouring a rather sordid secret – the county is the UK’s dogging capital.
According to figures released by Surrey Police under the Freedom of Information Act, there are 93 dogging locations where strangers meet to engage in sexual activity that the Police classify as ‘public sex environments’ throughout the county, out of a total of 222 locations countrywide.
Surrey Assistant Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said “Surrey is a rural county with good transport links and would expect a high number to be recorded as the force takes a proactive approach to identify and monitor areas of concern.”
The senior policemen goes on to acknowledge that dogging is not illegal by stating “Whilst it is not illegal to engage in sexual activity outdoors, there are a number of offences which could result from this such as causing alarm or distress to others, outraging public indecency or exposure.”
Reigate and Banstead Neighbourhood Inspector Richard Haycock agrees with the Police as he said the area’s figures could be down to its size and number of residents. He stated “Reigate and Banstead has the highest population of a borough in the county. There are more people living here than in other places and we have really good transport links out of London, to the south, down to the coast – buses, trains and roads. It is a very busy borough and I suspect that’s why we feature highly when you look at any numeric table in any category.”
A local dogger named Barry who is often at the Hogs Back dogging site told us “Yes, there are plenty of places to go dogging in Surrey and some can get really busy. I do know that the coppers carry out what they call preventative patrols, but if you ask me, a lot of them would love to come and join us, either in our out of their uniforms.”
A Surrey resident named Mike Preece wrote into the local paper saying that the news about Surrey being the UK dogging capital made him “proud to live in Surrey” while David Evans asked if there was a “bus stop” near one of the locations.
