Campaigner ties ribbon around Forest of Dean trees

Yellow ribbons have been tied around trees in the Forest of Dean by a campaigner worried about its future.

Sally Lomax said that parts could be "fenced off" which will "change the look of the Forest" and added her actions have won a lot of support.

There is concern that the government could sell off large swathes of the Forest of Dean to private investors.

The Conservative MP for the area, Mark Harper, has insisted the proposals will not damage the Forest's environment.

'Threat'

Ms Lomax said that the Forest is "run beautifully by the Forestry Commission at the moment and only costs taxpayers nationally 30p a year".

She added: "Selling it off won't make a lot of money unless they start to develop it and build houses and fundamentally change what is a unique and public faciltiy".

In reponse, Mr Harper said that protestors were "jumping the gun" and claimed they should wait until the proposals were published in full instead of speculating.

"There never has been a threat to the Forest of Dean and I think constituents will see that very clearly in the new year," he said.