A large amount of timber has been stolen from National Trust woodland in Gloucestershire, with countryside rangers saying that high fuel prices and an increase in wood burning stove use have led to the crime.

Representatives from the Haresfield Beacon estate have seen people leaving the area with vehicles full of logs taken from all parts of the 200-acre long premises.

National Trust countryside ranger Tim Jenkins said: "I've seen people going in with chain saws [to cut up tree trunks] and ferrying it off in wheelbarrows to parked car.

"I can only put it down to an increase in gas prices."

Mr Jenkins' comments come after Bernie Herilihy from Ideal Home Magazine stated that log burners have become popular among British homeowners in the last few years.

He noted that the wood burning stoves have also attracted more buyers, and particularly suit Victorian or Edwardian homes, where they can be used as a focal point of a room.