A NOTORIOUS lay-by on the A249 near Maidstone is likely to be closed in a bid to stop it becoming a meeting point for perverts.

County councillors will decide next Tuesday whether to recommend that the lay-by at Stockbury be shut off. The proposed closure would represent an about-turn by KCC which had suggested it intended to clear up the site.

The Kent Messenger revealed in the summer how the lay-by had become a meeting point for perverts who used the woods behind as a site for cruising and engaging in open air sex, a practice known as "dogging."

County councillors on KCC's Highways Board will be presented with a report setting out two options.

The first, which is recommended, is to close the lay-by to all traffic at a cost of £5,000. County transport chiefs say they recognise this could cause problems for some lorry drivers as the only alternative is for them to use a short section of road at the entrance to the Detling Aerodrome industrial estate.

However, they stress motorists are well catered for with a 24-hour garage and Little Chef restaurant near Detling's County Show ground.

Councillors will also consider as an alternative the option of fencing off the lay-by to prevent people getting to the nearby woods.

However, the costs are estimated at £30,000 and KCC says there would be no guarantee of preventing further anti-social behaviour or vandalism.

The revelations about the site prompted widespread protests from residents and local councillors.