EXCLUSIVE Ashdown Forest vandal, 56, who tore down and defaced 20 parking signs at forest which inspired Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood amid row over new charges pays £2,753 in damages

• READ MORE: Row breaks out over new car parking charges at Ashdown Forest

A man who tore down and defaced 20 parking signs at Ashdown Forest amid a row over new charges has had to pay £2,753 in damages. 

The forest in East Sussex inspired Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood and is thought to have had its signs vandalised in protest over the introduction of new parking costs. 

A 56-year-old man was arrested in October on suspicion of criminal damage after he was allegedly spotted tearing up a wooden post and throwing it into some bushes.

Now he has admitted to carrying out damage to 20 signs across the woodland and has repaid the £2,753 sum. 

In agreement with the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, the man was issued with a Community Resolution that required him to pay back the cost of the signs.

Signs at Ashdown Forest were allegedly vandalised in protest over the introduction of new parking costs

Managers said the attacks are ‘eroding’ funds aimed at maintaining the forest and its facilities

Landscape Recovery Manager Mark Infield with signs that were torn down 

The forest in East Sussex inspired Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood

Community Resolution is a restorative justice tool often used for low-level offences, which allows a victim and suspect to come to a solution without going through a formal court process. The terms of the Community Resolution must be agreed by both parties.

PC Pete Hall, from Sussex Police’s rural crime team, said: ‘There are consequences for behaviour of this kind.

‘Anyone identified as being responsible for damaging or defacing signage on the forest will be dealt with.

‘This particular individual has been hit with a hefty financial penalty.’

The forest is famous for inspiring the Hundred Acre Wood, the setting of AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books.

The woodland is an Area of Outstanding Beauty covering 10 square miles. On the edge of the forest is a copy of the original Pooh Sticks Bridge where Pooh played the game with other characters. 

The parking charges were introduced last year to help address the financial deficit from maintaining the beautiful forest.

Fees range from £2 an hour to £5 for the day – or £80 for an annual pass – with a cheaper concessionary charge of £5 a year available to those on benefits.

Forest managers say around 50 signs have either been torn down and thrown aside or defaced and scrawled on 

Janet Wirdnam (left) and Julia Fairhall who enjoy the forest, which inspired Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood

Forest managers say around 50 signs have either been torn down and thrown aside or defaced and scrawled on since the charges were introduced in November 2022.

They say the attacks are ‘eroding’ funds aimed at maintaining the forest and all its facilities.

The income generated has been used to improve and maintain paths, gates and bridges as well as fix potholes in car parks, and restore eroded entrances and exits.

Each sign costs £99 and there are costs incurred with having to put the signs back up in the car parks.

Since the charges were introduced in November 47 signs have been torn down or damaged at a cost of £6,772.

READ MORE: Row breaks out over new car parking charges at Winnie-the-Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest – as vandals tear down signs and visitors blast ‘money-making scam’

One visitor, Julia Fairhall, said: ‘We understand you have to pay something towards the maintenance of this beautiful place.

‘It’s really well-managed and we don’t want it to turn back into a wilderness that no-one can access.’

Mark Infield, Landscape Recovery Manager at Ashdown Forest, said: ‘We thought long and hard before introducing parking charges and a lot of thought has been put into it to make it fair.

‘There is £5 annual charge for those on benefits as we didn’t want anyone excluded who was less able to afford to pay. We have sold 230 of those annual passes so it shows the scheme is working.

‘These are important revenues to help us keep the forest open and safe, but these attacks are definitely eroding that money.’

Forest managers said the vast majority of visitors are paying to park, with 93 penalty notices being issued since the introduction of charges.

Ashdown Forest’s countryside manager, Ashley Walmsley, said: ‘We were distressed by the damage to our signs which upset our visitors, wasted our time, and cost money that we would otherwise have used to improve forest infrastructure.

‘We are thankful for the report provided by a member of the public that led to the arrest and put an end to this extreme behaviour.’

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