One local said the area had become ‘lawless’
The Downs(Image: Francis Hawkins/SWNS)
A class of university students caught a couple having sex in a car in broad daylight on the Downs. The amorous couple were parked on the Circular Road in between two vans and so the birds and the bees formed a surprise feature of the students’ wildlife tour of nature in the area.
The car was parked next to the pavement along a row of vans which people live in. The prominent public display of affection has led to a warning that some people on the Downs “do things that you might not ordinarily do”.
Anna Stevens is the biodiversity engagement and learning manager at the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife team. She regularly takes classes of students and schoolchildren around the area to educate them about the spectacular local nature.
Speaking to the Downs committee, she said: “When I was out with a group of first-year university students, we had an incident where we were walking on the Circular Road, right next to the vehicles that are parked on the side. Right in between two of the big vans, we had a small car.
“As we walked past, we realised that there were two people having sex in the car. And I obviously have 17 students with me, by the time we realise that it’s too late. They weren’t young, I could have been with 10-year-olds, but I wasn’t, thank goodness.
“It’s just something that people need to be aware of, if they don’t go up on the site a lot. When you have got people living in a place where they feel that’s a place where it’s their home, it gives this idea that you can do things that you might not ordinarily do. They were in a public place, in broad daylight, right next to a pavement.”
While it’s unclear when the couple were caught, the warning came at the same time as Bristol City Council declared some parts of the Downs a public health risk. Two leading councillors said they had evidence of sites being used as “organised toilet facilities, filled with human waste”.
An unnamed member of the public added: “It’s not about being in a home, it’s about being in a lawless area, which we’ve allowed that area to become. We know that this is a serious issue. I very strongly feel that Anna and her guests need protecting, and we’re not protecting them.”