SELLING our woodlands to developers would be a disaster for the local economy, according to a statistics expert.

Data analyst Professor Laurie Moseley, from Cinderford, said: "A Government report from Defra and lots of other reports say the quality of the environment is the greatest asset a rural area can possess to attract businesses and create jobs for skilled people.

"The Forest also ranked top in a survey by Reader's Digest as the best place to raise children. If we want to attract the big companies, we must make sure the environment isn't under-, otherwise the only jobs available will be dead-end ones."

He also cited a national survey conducted by the Forestry Commission last year which found 99 per cent of people wanted no public forests to be sold off.

Prof Moseley is research officer for Friends of the Forest.