I FEEL sorry for your correspondent who has suffered damage caused by the Pludds sheep, but if asked the owner would reply that he did leave the gate open.

I too have suffered from the same cause, but I live in Ruardean. My garden was trashed by the sheep on consecutive nights last week and I have had weeks of work destroyed.

My point is that I live outside the Statutory Forest, and the sheep should not be roaming in Ruardean. The owner will be aware of that and by allowing them to roam she risks allowing them onto farms in the village.

This will trigger a six-day standstill on that farm, and if the farmer has entered into a contract to sell livestock from that farm during those six days he will be unable to honour the contract. The owner may find herself liable for the loss of income.

Anyone coming across these sheep outside the Statutory Forest can ring Trading Standards in Gloucester to log the fact. Each incident is entered on the owner's record for Trading Standards and Forest Enterprise to take up with the owner at their leisure.

–Name and address supplied.