Ashdown Forest has thanked a person for reporting vandalism to police.

A 56-year-old man has been arrested in connection with damage to car parking signs at the world-famous forest, which served as inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood in A A Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books.

The man has been released on bail as investigations continue.

Since a parking payment scheme was introduced in November 2022, the forest has reported several incidents of signs being damaged, removed or destroyed in 18 of its 45 car parks.

Mark Infield, land recovery manager at Ashdown Forest, thanked the member of the public who reportedly saw a sign being damaged and reported it to police.

He said: “We would also like to thank Sussex Police for their help and support as we continue to work with them to keep the forest safe and accessible for everyone.

“We welcome around 1.4 million visitors to the forest every year. When they pay to park, they understand that they are making an important contribution to the protection of this unique landscape.

“Replacing the signs is costly and impacts on the amount of revenue generated. Paid parking was introduced to raise funds to improve Ashdown Forest for everyone and we remain committed to this.”