Latest news with #ForestofDean
BBC News
17 hours ago
- BBC News
Woman feared dead after wire theft cut her off for weeks
A woman says her family feared she was dead after thieves stole copper pipes, wiping out all methods of communication for 23 Lowe, 88, noticed she had "no BT telephone lines, no WiFi, no email, no WhatsApp, no message facilities" at her property in Viney Hill, Gloucestershire on 28 Lowe, who has cancer, said hospital specialists were trying to contact her to arrange appointments but could not reach her, leaving her "in danger of getting much worse" until she was reconnected on 21 May.A spokesperson for Openreach said: "These attacks cause unacceptable disruption to the lives of local people and put vulnerable people at risk." Ms Lowe said when you're 88 years old and in difficult times with your health, your family think "you must have died because mum always answers the phone"."They were absolutely alarmed," she is currently receiving treatment from a cancer specialist at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and medics were trying to contact her to arrange blood tests. "I was in danger of getting much worse because I couldn't get any of these messages," she said."I had no security alarm system working, no medical alarm system working, no CCTV surveillance on the house. Everything was dead."While Ms Lowe said her WiFi and telephone line are now working, it caused "incredible and continuous stress". A spokesperson for Openreach said: "We're really disappointed that residents in the Forest of Dean have borne the brunt of a cable theft from our network."Complex jointing works were needed to restore the network and this required permission for temporary traffic lights to keep our engineers safe. All customers should now be back in service."Gloucestershire Police said its intelligence teams were unaware of a large increase in copper cable thefts, which are "sporadic".
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Headlines: New mayor channels Paw Patrol and horse rescued
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media. Our pick of local website stories A mum in the Forest of Dean whose son has a rare form of epilepsy – causing him to once have 63 seizures in an hour – is fundraising to help a Dravet Syndrome charity, according to Gloucestershire Live.A horse abandoned which was rescued from the M32 on Friday is now being looked after by new owners, as reported by Bristol the Swindon Advertiser is reporting the town's new mayor will be channelling the Mayor Goodway from Paw Patrol. Our top three from yesterday What to watch on social media Woodwell Meadows has been declared a Local Nature Reserve, according to South Gloucestershire Salisbury, people are commenting on a underpass that connects St Paul's Road and Middleton Road, which seems to flood even if it has not in Somerset, a film crew was spotted in the water in Weston-super-Mare. It is said they were filming for a Channel 4 series airing in the autumn.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Forest to get first extension in more than 200 years
A 88 hectare (0.88 sq km) woodland is the first extension due to be added to the Forest of Dean in more than 200 years. The site at Hoathorns, near Edge End in Coleford, was bought in December 2024 by Forestry England. A public consultation has now opened on plans for the site. The land will support biodiversity, create habitats for wildlife, and eventually provide a sustainable source of timber. "It's the first extension to the public forest estate in the Forest of Dean since 1817," said Forestry England's area manager Tom Brockington. "We will be looking to create a mixed woodland and members of the public will be able to explore it." More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire The site was formerly a farm and is currently made up of arable and pastoral fields bordered by native hedgerows. Early plans will link the new woodland to existing ancient ones. Mr Brockington said it was a "really exciting location" for the new forest. "This extension will connect ancient woodland to the isolated woodland that exists in the farm now," he said. A public consultation on the plans was launched on 6 May and will run until Sunday 1 June. It is expected planting will begin in November and last until the end of March 2026. Forestry England manages more than 1,500 woods and forests across the country and received over 285 million visits in 2023/24. It plans to create at least 2,000 hectares of new, high-quality woodland nationally. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. New 44-acre nature reserve for former dairy farm New national forest to see 20m trees planted Future of ponds unveiled after series of protests Forestry England
BBC News
10-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Forest of Dean to get first extension in more than 200 years
A 88 hectare (0.88 sq km) woodland is the first extension due to be added to the Forest of Dean in more than 200 site at Hoathorns, near Edge End in Coleford, was bought in December 2024 by Forestry England. A public consultation has now opened on plans for the land will support biodiversity, create habitats for wildlife, and eventually provide a sustainable source of timber. "It's the first extension to the public forest estate in the Forest of Dean since 1817," said Forestry England's area manager Tom Brockington. "We will be looking to create a mixed woodland and members of the public will be able to explore it." The site was formerly a farm and is currently made up of arable and pastoral fields bordered by native plans will link the new woodland to existing ancient Brockington said it was a "really exciting location" for the new forest."This extension will connect ancient woodland to the isolated woodland that exists in the farm now," he said. A public consultation on the plans was launched on 6 May and will run until Sunday 1 June. It is expected planting will begin in November and last until the end of March England manages more than 1,500 woods and forests across the country and received over 285 million visits in 2023/24. It plans to create at least 2,000 hectares of new, high-quality woodland nationally.
