A mushroom hunter fears she has uncovered a new dogging hotspot after finding a sex toy strapped to a tree in woodland.

During a walk next to the Sittingbourne-bound A249, the fungi fan stumbled upon the risque item fastened in place using string.

The woman, who we are identifying as Helen, had been searching for mushrooms and truffles with her dog along a footpath which runs from Keycol Hill to Stockbury.

Cocker spaniel Henry pulled on the lead taking Helen up a hill into the woods where she discovered the toy.

She said: “I looked from a distance and then I just left, as I was really disgusted and a bit freaked out by it.

“It might be that because of the lay-by closures further down the A249 towards Maidstone, this has become a new hotspot for dogging.

“It is very concerning really as obviously things are happening in these woods right next to the footpath.

“I’d like to see a proper fence line put up along the lay-by where lorries park, cars park so that they do not have straight access into the footpath and the woods behind it.”

Open-air sex – or dogging as it is known – has been commonplace in the area in recent years with hotspots including woodland around Stockbury, Hucking and Detling.

Almost a decade ago, the A249 layby at Stockbury, was closed when it was revealed as a favoured spot for illicit acts in which participants watch other couples having sex.

More recently, in November 2022, condoms and sex toys were found in nearby Borden Nature Reserve, leading to residents calling for lights and cameras to be installed.

Helen’s discovery happened around three weeks ago but she returned to the woods, which are about half a mile from the Key Street roundabout, with a KentOnline reporter who pictured the sex toy on Wednesday last week.

However, she said this was a different toy to what she’d seen before with the previous one being brighter pink, larger and tied higher up a different tree trunk.

Also by the lay-by, there were bags of what is believed to be human faeces hung on branches, bottles of urine left on the ground and an array of other rubbish including a mattress.

It is suspected these come from lorry drivers who parked overnight and don’t have access to proper toilet facilities.

Cllr Mike Baldock (Swale Inds), who also visited the woods, is preparing a report to go to Kent County Council about the issues.

He said: “It’s obvious people are coming here for certain extracurricular activities.

“If people want to come here and make dirty videos, I don’t really have a problem with that but what they should do is make sure they clear their junk away afterwards.

“Children might be walking these woods, families go for days out, it would be a nice spot for a picnic.”

Kent Police says its officers haven’t received any reports of criminal activity and advised that any other issues should be reported to the relevant local authority.