Brockley residents raise £100,000 to save patch of ancient London woodland

Gorne Wood is a rare surviving fragment of an old forest and provides habitat for wildlife such as slow worms and endangered hedgehogs

Schools had cake sales and staged protests, supporters did sponsored bike rides and walks, musicians held fundraising concerts, and a theatre group wove the story into a performance piece. Children even sent in their pocket money.

And on Friday, they saw the results when the residents of Brockley, south-east London, proudly announced they had won a race against time to raise the 100,000 to buy Gorne Wood, the closest surviving patch of ancient woodland to the City of London, from developers.