MORE than 300 complaints about sheep in Forest villages have been made to a parish council, it has been claimed.

Dave Kent, the clerk to West Dean Parish Council, is spending a quarter of his time dealing with such complaints, said council chairman Cllr Paul Hiett.

Cllr Hiett (Lab, Bream) told the Forest of Dean District Council that a recent survey found that three-quarters of people in Bream wanted the sheep out of the village.

He said the villages of Yorkley, Pillowell, Parkend and Whitecroft "are also suffering the misery of sheep and, mostly, irresponsible shepherding."

He said the parish council was not "anti-commoning" but wanted to see "responsible" shepherding.

Cllr Hiett added: "West Dean Parish Council has two members of staff and one of them is spending 25 per cent of his time fielding complaints about sheep nuisance – it is 320 complaints.

"This is the tip of the iceberg, many people do not complain because they have complained so many times before."

He claimed there had been retaliation against people who had complained including slashed tyres and an oil tank being drilled.

The district council agreed to an in-depth investigation of the issue by a scrutiny committee.

Cllr Hiett's motion for a scrutiny committee to look at the issue was seconded by Cllr Richard Leppington (UKIP, Bream).

He said: "I would like to thank the Labour group for allowing me to second this motion to show it is not about politics it is about the people affected."