I READ with interest in last week's Review that Mr Holder was holding a meeting at his home for the members of the Commoners' Association because he fears this very old tradition is under threat. May I suggest to Mr Holder that the reason that this is happening is because of the failings of some of his own members.

I am a Forester and my family, grandparents, parents, uncles, have all been commoners and freeminers, and I am able to comment from a lifetime of knowledge and experience living in the Forest.

He is quite correct in suggesting that this tradition is under threat. Foresters have enjoyed this tradition for hundreds of years. Mr Holder, as a true Forester/commoner and as secretary of the Commoners' Association, must be aware of the pride in being a commoner and the responsibilities which that title carries, in particular the health, welfare and safety of the animals and respect for the people living within and visiting the Forest.

I live at The Pludds and I know that outsiders are able to come into the Forest and somehow take up the rights of commoners but they do not live up to their responsibilities and they flaunt years of tradition and pride. It makes me so very angry to see these people coming into our community and destroying hundreds of years of tradition which our fathers and grandfathers worked so hard to maintain and who were so proud to be called a Forester or commoner.

The following comments are made with specific experience of the sheep which roam in and around The Pludds which is a very small village with the usual amenities, village hall, bus shelter and one pavement running up the High Street, and these are the problems we are having to deal with.

Village Hall: Users of the hall have to run a gauntlet of sheep muck to get to the hall and this is particularly difficult for elderly people walking from the bus stop up to the hall trying to avoid the muck.

Bus shelter: We cannot use this as it is filled with sheep and their muck so passengers have to wait outside in all weathers.

High Street: The pavement is covered in muck and at times not safe to walk on as it becomes very slippery and it's the same around the telephone box.

We have a 93 year-old lady who is an amputee and has to cross forestry land to get to her home. Her carers and helpers have to get the wheelchair through the sheep and their muck which is not very pleasant or easy.

The people of the Forest have always lived with sheep and other animals roaming around their villages but in recent years the decline in their health and welfare has been pitiful to see. Some are not sheared and walk about for months with muck hanging all around their backends.

The people of The Pludds have been putting up with this for 15 years or more so maybe Mr Holder does have cause to worry about the loss of commoners' rights but it is clear to see that the lack of responsibility by a few is affecting them all.

– Mrs Y Sosna, The Pludds.