CONCERNED readers contacted the Review recently, worried that signs that had been put up at Flaxley Woods suggested that the Forestry Commission intended to sell them – 'within the year'.

The Commission explained that it was the wording on the signs which had been misread.

The signs, which originally appeared two weeks ago, stated that the woods would be sold 'within the next twelve months' – but James Williams, Forestry Commission Forest Ranger for East Dean, insisted that the signs were part of a harvesting project, and that it was the timber that was for sale – and not the land itself.

However, Paul Scoles of Drybrook who is a regular walker in the area commented: "It looks as if the signs are advising people that the woods themselves are for sale. I've met other people on walks in the area who thought the same – and some commented that it sounded like a sort of back-door sell off of the woods.

"I am relieved that the woods aren't for sale. They are a beautiful part of the Forest, and it would be a shame if they were to fall into the hands of a tycoon, or a property developer, who would then fence it off and build on the land."