Illicit thrill-seekers on the look-out for sex at cruising and dogging spots in Surrey have been provided with £120 worth of tea and biscuits by Surrey Police.

Surrey Police admitted providing hot beverages and snacks between May and July at the Hog’s Back Cafe, a well known cruising spot between Guildford and Farnham.

It is believed neighbourhood officers and the lesbian and gay liaison officer (LAGLO) have also gone down to the woods to have a chat with people using a “dogging” site at Wisley Gardens just off the A3 near Cobham.

While the news infuriated Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn, Weybridge charity Gay Surrey applauded the forces’s work.

Gino Meriano, chairman of Gay Surrey, believed Surrey Police's action was working.

He said: "If you had asked whether this kind of thing works, I would have said a huge ‘no’.

"But the philosophy is, for every person that reports a hate crime, a story is eventually built up and there will eventually be an arrest.

"Whatever you want to label the activity going on at these places, the fact is the police are addressing this in a professional manner.

"They are going down there and listening to people and finding ways to try and resolve this.

"People are talking and the relationship between them and the police is building. It's money well spent."

Surrey has always been something of a hotbed for dogging and cruising, with internet sites dedicated to finding both people and places to engage in the activity, which is only illegal if witnessed by a member of the public who takes umbrage.

But three years ago a Walton man was found guilty of knifing to death a gay man in a toilet by the River Thames used by men for sex.

An Australian backpacker was drugged and subjected to a six-hour ordeal after being lured to Wisley woods by a cab driver who knew of the car park’s reputation and was jailed in 2004.

And horse riders have been asked to look out for illegal activity in Esher woods by police in the past.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: “The money came from the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership kitty.

"Neighbourhood officers visit the Hogs Back site with the local LAGLO to build relationships with people who attend the site, with the aim of encouraging the homosexual community to report hate crime.

"On occasions this will be with an outreach worker and someone from the NHS and they might have a cup of tea and a biscuit while having a chat with members of the public at the site to help build trust."