A CAMPAIGN to rid a Kent beauty spot of its reputation as a gay sex and dogging area has seen its first prosecution.

Stuart Davis, 59 and unemployed, admitted one count of outraging public decency on Dartford Heath when he appeared before magistrates in the town on Tuesday.

Davis was caught committing a sex act by police officers as they patrolled the heath on bicycles as part of the Dartford Messenger's It’s Our Heath campaign.

Davis committed the act in full view of drivers parked nearby, the court heard.

He claimed to use a lubricating jelly found in his possession on his rugby-playing friends in his role as a first-aider at a rugger club. His mobile phone had two pornographic heterosexual images on it.

The magistrates imposed a three-year conditional discharge on Davis, from Blackheath. They also ordered him to pay £400 in court costs.

The sentence was welcomed by Dartford Council and police who have worked in assocaition with the Dartford Messenger on the campaign.

Council leader, Cllr Jeremy Kite, said: "It’s quite unacceptable for sexual practices to take place on the heath, which is a space for families and the whole community.”

SEE THIS WEEK'S DARTFORD MESSENGER FOR THE LATEST NEWS ON THE CAMPAIGN