A LEADING conservation charity has expressed its gratitude to Newport city council for helping to tackle antisocial behaviour in an ancient woodlands.

As we reported last week, council leader Matthew Evans has agreed vehicles should be banned from two routes in the forest.

It follows a request from the Woodland Trust and the Forestry Commission, who both own large tracts of the area, in the wake of a series of environmental crimes including fly-tipping and abandoned cars.

Anna Heslop, campaigns officer for the Woodland Trust, said they were really grateful to the council for helping them to tackle this illegal activity.

Legitimate visitors are welcome to the beauty spot as both bodies have an open access policy for informal recreation.

"We hope that the proposed traffic order will help to alleviate the problem and encourage lots more visitors to come and enjoy the beautiful woodland," said Ms Heslop.

"We are looking forward to seeing the comments from local people as part of the consultation process on the order, so that we can address any concerns the public might have."

The Trust is the UK's leading woodland conservation charity.