Letter: Woolly solution to wooded problems

Sir: In view of recent assaults which have taken place on our commons, and the increasing criminality in general, perhaps it would be a good idea to let most of our commons revert to what they once were: treeless grazing lands. On W. Faden's map of 1800, for example, the area of Wimbledon Common is described as a heath. Older maps also indicate that most of that common was treeless.

To convert our increasingly wooded commons to open grasslands, no chainsaw is needed - one need only put sheep on the land, and within a century it will be back to what it was before.

Yours faithfully,

MIKAEL GRUT

London, SW19

20 September