I WAS upset when I saw your article about Ron Chadwick removing ivy from trees in Lawn Woods and I find it particularly distressing that he intends to form a group to remove it in large quantities.

He is obviously well intentioned but what he intends to do would be an ecological disaster.

Ivy on trees does no harm and in fact is a really important part of the forest environment.

While it may overwhelm small trees, it was proven to do no damage to forest trees in a 40-year long experiment.

On the plus side, ivy on the ground actually protects the woodland floor from compaction and erosion from heavy rain and provides shelter for small fauna such as frogs, toads, slowworms and small mammals.

On trees it provides shelter and nesting places for bats and birds, hibernation roosts for butterflies. Butterflies, by the way, are in serious decline and their habitats need protecting, not destroying in an effort to make the woods tidy.

The flowers of ivy, that only appear when ivy reaches the top of its support, are an important late nectar source for bumble bees and indeed honeybees.

Both types of bee are in decline and some bumble bee species have become extinct in Britain and others are under extreme pressure. Populations of honeybees are being decimated by pesticides and mite infestation and removal of this autumnal food source could be the final straw.

Another thing Mr Chadwick should urgently take into account is that it is illegal to disturb bird nests and bat roosts and could result in fines or even imprisonment. It is generally considered that this prohibits clearing ivy from mid March until the end of August.

STEVE THOMPSON Norman Road Swindon