DON T get caught short in the new Heartwood Forest because the Woodland Trust is not planning to provide any toilets. At a presentation to the Nomansland Management Committee earlier this month, the Woodland Trust, which is developing the forest just outs

DON'T get caught short in the new Heartwood Forest because the Woodland Trust is not planning to provide any toilets.

At a presentation to the Nomansland Management Committee earlier this month, the Woodland Trust, which is developing the forest just outside Sandridge, confirmed that they would not be building toilet blocks or putting any other amenities on the site.

Head of public relations at the Woodland Trust Paul Hetherington said that there would only ever be Portaloos at Heartwood Forest and they would be available during the planting season from October to April or when there was an event on.

He added: "The idea has always been to combine Heartwood Forest with Sandridge and, because we are encouraging people to use toilets at the local pub, business has already improved in Sandridge."

Landlady at the Queen's Head pub in Sandridge Sue Pearce said that she welcomed the Trust's decision not to provide toilets at Heartwood Forest: "We definitely get more customers nowadays and, although there must be some people who come in only to use the toilets, the majority will buy a drink and maybe something to eat at the same time."

But UKIP prospective parliamentary candidate for St Albans, John Stocker, who attended the meeting a couple of weeks ago, said that he thought the idea was "not practical" and added: "I am sure the public won't be amused by the suggestion of using the pubs when nature calls! The majority of visitors to the forest probably aren't regular pub-goers anyway.