THE Woodland Trust said it is overwhelmed with the public response to its appeal to save an ancient Gwent woodland.

Two weeks ago, the trust launched a bid to buy almost 900 acres of Wentwood Forest near Caerwent, Wales' most ancient woodland, which is up for sale by its owners.

The trust wants to save the forest for public use, and appealed for people to pledge money to help raise £100,000 towards the cost.

Last night the Trust revealed it has already raised £35,000 in pledges, more than a third of the total.

Rory Francis, of the Woodland Trust, said: "This is excellent news. We have been overwhelmed by the public support for the campaign, from the public meeting on June 7 onwards."

The charity fears the sale to a commercial forestry company could spell the end of the forest, a claim strongly denied by the agents handling the sale.

Already £500,000 has been identified from existing funds that can be used to secure the site for future generations.

Mr Francis added: "Wentwood has been offered for sale on the open market, so there is no guarantee the Woodland Trust will succeed in securing the site. There is still a long way to go, but if this level of public enthusiasm continues, we have an excellent chance of succeeding."

In the past two weeks, hundreds have pledged to support the Save Wentwood Forest Campaign.

Most of the native broad-leaved trees in Wentwood were felled to provide valuable timber in World War I.

Commercial forestry and the planting of conifers since then have damaged the ancient wood and its dependent wildlife.

The trust says unless action is taken now to manage the site sensitively then commercial felling could continue to damage the vulnerable fragments of ancient woodland.