Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust boss Dr Gordon McGlone to step down

Dr Gordon McGlone OBE joined Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1979

The chief executive of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has announced he will step down from the post after more than 30 years.

Dr Gordon McGlone OBE will leave the charity next January to launch his own business.

He joined the organisation in 1979 and was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to conservation.

Dr McGlone said he wanted to "face new challenges" and "now is the time to explore them".

He has also been involved in the badger and bovine TB debate, and championed the trust's vaccination programme that was launched in 2011.

Dr McGlone said: "I have very much enjoyed my time with the trust and it has been a privilege to work with so many dedicated and talented people.

"It has been a pleasure to see how the trust has developed over the years and to be able to have such fantastic support from the people of Gloucestershire, including our partner organisations.

"However, I was reflecting on the centenary of the wildlife trusts and realised that for more than a third of that time I had worked for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

"There are a number of things I would like to do and new challenges to face so I decided that now was the time to explore them."