HUNDREDS of Foresters have fought and died for the freedom of the woods, and no one is willing to lose that freedom.

So says angered Korean War veteran Roy Mills, 79.

The Cinderford grandfather was one of 10 Foresters from the 1st Gloucester Battalion who spent more than two years in a prisoner-of-war camp from 1951.

But he insisted: "This isn't about me, it's about the Forest. I want to speak for all those who've gone now, or who were killed in wars or in the mines to help this country.

"When we joined the army, we Foresters were fighting first for our Forest, but we were also doing so much to help our country.

"When I was young, Foresters had only one alternative – join the Army or go down the pit. And the miners were producing extra coal for the war effort.

"We as kids played in these woods every day and I still walk them whenever I can.

"Their future is looking dicey, and it'll get nasty if they try and take them away from us. I hope the younger generations will fight to keep them. They belong to all of us Foresters."