Cafe boss hits out at ‘dogging’
AN ANGRY cafe owner is launching a campaign to stop “doggers” parking up nearby, stopping lorry drivers from pulling up and enjoyng her food.
Sharon Wherrett , who owns Big Baps at Junction 25 on Wakefield Road, Brighouse, with her sister Amanda Bisset, says Kirklees Lagoon, just behind her business, is a wellknown “dogging” spot where people meet up to have sex.
Charities have left condoms there tied to trees and there is even a mattress, she said.
“It’s now beyond a joke,” she said. “Men walk around with their genitals out of their trousers which can be seen from our cafe.
“It’s disgusting. I have to tell people who come to the cafe not to go there.”
She is most concerned that people using the location, as well as people who are carsharing, are taking up the space in the layby next to her cafe so there is not enough room for lorry drivers to park up.
She said she wants action taken to help the lorry drivers.
“Truckers have a hard enough time at the moment and they can’t even park up to get a warm meal,” she said.
“If we don’t look after our hard working truckers we will lose them. No truckers means no deliveries, which means empty shelves.
“Truckers are hard working people who, at the very least, deserve to be able to get a hot meal and use cafe facilities.”
Sharon, from Mirfield, and Amanda, from Liversedge, bought the cafe three years ago.
She says the “dogging” has always been an issue but was a particular problem at the height of the pandemic and is now worse than ever.
It is happening at all times of the day, even in broad daylight. She said she used to take her young granddaughter down there but now stays clear.
Sharon has launched a petition calling for Calderdale Council to implement parking restrictions in laybys.
To sign, visit https:// www.change.org/p/localcouncils-lay-bys-for-truckers.
Kirklees Lagoon hit the headlines back in 2015 when anglers and walkers tried to stop people using the area for lewd acts and sexual activity.
Contraceptives and sexual health advice packs were being stapled to trees in the area.