IN the wake of a complaint from a furious householder that sheep have munched their way through her Bream garden, the Commoners' Association has confirmed the village has now been excluded as a grazing area.

Association secretary Mick Holder says that while the village remains within the Statutory Forest and the grazing area it had been decided no member of the Association would run sheep there.

"There had been a lot of complaints and to support the community we agreed that no sheep runs would be available in Bream. If there are sheep there then they would be owned by a grazier who is registered with the Forestry Commission but who is not a member of the Association," he said.

The Commoners, he said, had sympathy with residents who found themselves with problems.

Mr Holder said there had been a number of additions to the 2001 Agreement which formed the framework for the freedom of pasture. Among them sheep were no longer allowed to lie in communities and had to be moved on.

"Ideally they should be hefted into areas where they can take advantage of the freedom of pasture. However there are difficulties with the Highways Act and, of course, problems created by open plan developments in areas where sheep roam.

"I accept there are some awkward predicaments but we are always willing to talk them through and to seek solutions which will, hopefully, satisfy all parties," he said.

Mrs Sonja Hitchcock, of Witherby Walk, Bream, says she was devastated to find her garden "completely vandalised by sheep."

She told the Review: "The worst of it was they had a basket of flowers which my daughter Annabel had given me for Mother's Day. It was a beautiful basket but it was completely destroyed. It was heartbreaking.

"Something has got to be done about the damage the sheep are causing."

Mr Hitchcock said the house was rented and "open plan" with no way to prevent sheep from gaining entry.