A steam room in a public swimming pool in Islington is being recommended for homosexual liaisons by a gay website which gave it a rating of four out of five stars.
The steam room at Islington’s Cally Pool was described as “tucked away round a corner”, making it the “best place for action”.
The website also highly rated a local car park, tennis courts and cemetery for homosexual sex.
Shocking
Adrian Kelly, who regularly uses Cally Pool, said he walked in to the steam room and found two men “wrapped around each other”.
He said: “I couldn’t believe it. I went in to relax and there were these two guys doing stuff. It was shocking.”
Mr Kelly added that Cally Pool is a family venue, and “you don’t know who might go in there and see something they shouldn’t”.
Annoyed
Jason Pollock, chairman of a gay magazine, said: “I don’t approve of any such behaviour – be it gay or straight – in a family swimming pool like this.”
Aquaterra Leisure, which is contracted by Islington Council to run the pool, said that swim wear is “optional” on single sex steam room days – which is everyday apart from Sunday.
Mr Kelly called for staff to check on the steam room, but was told that while they patrol the area staff couldn’t go into the steam room because “people got annoyed when the door gets opened and the steam escapes”.
Sentenced
In May last year a Lincolnshire man was convicted for trying to stop gay sex in public.
Colin Haw, a father-of-two, launched an online video campaign to stop the sex in a public wood popular with families.
But he was sentenced at Boston Magistrates’ Court to four months in prison, suspended for a year and a half, and was given 200 hours community service.
Defending Mr Haw, Liz Harte said his actions were a “misguided enterprise” but insisted that he thought he was doing “the right thing”. “The thinking was that he was a protector of morals and a guardian of children”, she said.
Punished
In 2007 firemen who shone their torch lights on men engaged in sexual activity in bushes faced reprimands.
The firemen noticed men on the Downs Parkland in Bristol and shone lights on them but when the men complained to the firemen’s employers, they were punished.
Avon Fire and Rescue fined two of the firemen £1,000 each.
One colleague of the firemen said they had been “treated as criminals and it has been forgotten that they witnessed criminal activity occurring in a public place”.
Worry
In 2003 the Government was defeated over plans to allow sex in public toilets.
“Cottaging”, as it is known, was slammed by Baroness Noakes. She said: “We think this is what decent people in our country want. They want public lavatories they can use and, more importantly, their children can use without worrying what else might be happening.”