CHILDREN on bikes are destroying hundreds of years of history at a Ludlow beauty spot.

Trenches that were dug hundreds of years ago by soldiers attacking Ludlow Castle are being damaged by youngsters on bicycles.

There is growing concern about the damage being caused at Whitcliffe Common and an appeal has been made for parents to stop children taking equipment that can be used in the destruction.

Volunteers have found saws and spades and say that equipment being used has been stored on the common and it is feared the plan is to do more work on creating a cycle track.

If it is not stopped then an important part of the town’s history could be lost forever.

Trustees of a Ludlow beauty spot have warned that a small gang of children are in danger of unwittingly causing lasting damage to an historic site.

“The youngsters have been building themselves a bike track which cuts across the trenches, an area where troops attacking Ludlow Castle are believed to have dug themselves in,” said Rick Summers, a volunteer organiser with the Friends of Whitcliffe Common.

Daphne Jones, chairman of the Friends, does not believe the damage is an act of deliberate vandalism.

"Bikes are banned from the common anyway but these youngsters have taken spades and saws up to the common and begun construction of a big bike track," said Ms Jones.

"They have constructed ramps, cut down fairly substantial trees and formed a track across the trenches.

"A fair amount of damage has already been caused and we have discovered tools hidden in the wood which indicates that they plan to do more work.

“We don’t want to be spoilsports. In fact we want to see youngsters using Whitcliffe but they need to understand that this is not the place for a bike track.

"Bikes are banned from the common so that walkers can safely use the many paths there and so as not to damage the habitat.

"I would appeal to any parent who realises that they have gardening tools and saws missing to have a quiet word with their children to ascertain if they may be responsible.

"There are tracks further up in the forest where bikes are welcomed and special trails have been made there for them but they are a banned on the common."

The common is important for its geology and is much more than somewhere people go for a walk.

It is maintained by the Friends of Whitcliffe Common and is one of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves. The common is home to two sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The site is just part of what was at one time a much larger medieval common that was used for grazing livestock, quarrying stone and gathering hay and brushwood.

Because of its strategic position it has also been used as a base for attacks on Ludlow Castle that at one time protected England against the Welsh.