A PETITION is calling on the Wildlife Trust to rebuild a trail of bike ramps near Kidderminster after they were flattened following "complaints".

Riders and parents have expressed their heartbreak over the decision to level the dirt jumps in Chestnut Wood which have been a well-used feature of the land between Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport for nearly 30 years.

The wood, which is part of Dropping Well Farm, was taken over by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust in November.

Bike rider and Bewdley Sixth Form student Ali Nalbant, from Stourport, started the online petition after he and his friends spent "more than 200 hours" building and maintaining the trails over the last six months.

The 16-year-old said: "There have been jumps and ramps in those woods for more than 25 years and then the Wildlife Trust came along and flattened it all.

"The trails were well-used and were not in anyone's way.

Kidderminster Shuttle:

"Me and my friends have been down there multiple times with bin liners picking up rubbish that was left there before us.

"I used to go down there every weekend. Then last week my mate called me and said a mini digger had been down there and it had all been knocked down. I was quite upset about it.

"I started the petition to get the trails back and it's had more than 450 signatures already.

"People are saying the trails gave kids something to do instead of sitting inside on their computers. A lot of people are upset by this."

Ali is set to meet with the Wildlife Trust and Wyre Forest District Council's Rangers on Thursday to discuss a solution.

The Wildlife Trust said it made the decision to flatten to trails after receiving complaints from concerned members of the public about the potential for accidents.

Andy Harris, the officer in charge of nature reserves in the area, said: "The trust took on the management of 95 acres of Dropping Well Farm in November and this includes the area known as Chestnut Wood.

"This patch of land has both a tarmacked cycle path and a public footpath going through it.

“We understand the concern of those people involved in creating and using the unofficial bike trails through the woodland but we have also had complaints from concerned members of the public about the potential for accidents – either from a cyclist careering into pedestrians or from someone falling into the holes that had been created.

“The wood is an important place for wildlife to thrive - something that is difficult for it to do with the level of disturbance created both by the physical movement of earth to create the cycle ramps and ditches and with people constantly using these unofficial routes.

Kidderminster Shuttle:

“The scale and risk of the trail has been increasing and we have filled in holes, flattened the ramps and blocked access for safety reasons.

"At the same time, we have cleared the tarmacked path of leaf mould.

“There will also be a benefit to wildlife. The holly that we have used to block access to parts of the woodland, for example, will encourage the growth of bramble, which will provide flowers for pollinators, berries for small mammals and shelter for birds.

“We have talked about our management of the woodland area to several of the cyclists responsible for creating the trails.

"It’s great that so many people in the local area are keen to enjoy the outdoors and we understand that they also take pride in keeping the area free of litter, for example.

"However, the trails are inappropriate in this area and there is provision for off-road cycling in the area.

"Indeed, Wyre Forest District Council are working with Sport England and British Cycling to provide mountain bike facilities on nearby Burlish Meadows.”

To view the petition, go to change.org/p/worcestershire-wildlife-trust-rebuilding-chestnutwood-bike-trails.