Investigations in the public interestEvidence. Enquiry. Accountability.

Torrington, Devon · Forestry & the right of way

The trees. The track.
The photographic record.

Mark John Mayo v Miss E / L00BP152 · 19 September 2026

The allegation: Miss E and Mr J allege unlawful tree felling and commercial use of the route beside their home. They further allege that Mark John Mayo (claimant in L00BP152; Higher Barley Hayes, Torrington area, Devon), Forestry Commission officer Henry Bexley (Woodland Officer, Forestry Commission, South West; regional office at Kennford, Exeter) and Luke Oliver Keith Cornwell (SRA 664668; solicitor and partner, Seldons LLP, Bideford, Devon) were involved in presenting a misleading account of access, while the photographic evidence of the operations was not properly addressed. Here are the images, the correspondence and the questions behind that allegation.

Draft first dated Last substantive update What changed?

Reading chapter 01 · The case in three minutes

The family links the scale of tree cutting to heavy vehicles using the route beside their home. Follow the photographic comparison, the safety concern and the later use of the inspection correspondence.

Back to the case · All chapters

A complaint about tree cutting became part of a dispute about access. Mr J says the same operations explain the machinery, the concrete driveway and the pressure on the right of way. The photographs make that account something readers can examine.

His August 2026 statement challenges the treatment of the felling evidence by Timothy Edmund Walsh (Circuit Judge, Western Circuit; appointed to Exeter Law Courts on 27 June 2022). The earlier defence, the strike-out submissions and Annex E show how long these concerns have been raised. Read the submission references →

Named in this strand

Jack Christopher Kelsey Webb, official professional portrait
Jack Christopher Kelsey Webb3PB Barristers · official professional portraitImage source
Luke Oliver Keith Cornwell — supplied colour portrait with his printed name
Luke Oliver Keith CornwellPhotograph supplied to The Unanswered RecordProfessional profile

Allegations, evidence and questions by name

The house beside the route

The reported collision: five metres from the house.

Mr J describes a right of way crossing Lower Barley Hayes and passing within approximately two feet of the vulnerable Grade II-listed historic home. He says its first floor relies on a roughly 300-year-old timber beam, there is a single exit, and he understands the concrete has no steel reinforcement. His concern is the consequence of a heavy vehicle striking the house or obstructing that exit.

Who lives with the consequences?

Mr J says Miss E spends much of her time in the home with her pets. For him, the concern is both personal and financial: his mother’s life and well-being, and his investment in the vulnerable Grade II-listed historic property. They would bear the immediate consequences of a serious impact. The judge deciding the access dispute does not live with that physical exposure; Mr Mayo’s interest in using the route is not the same as living inside the home beside it.

The family says it would be irresponsible to leave these risks unanswered until someone is injured or killed. They fear that damage could trap occupants, destroy irreplaceable historic fabric and leave specialist reconstruction costs exceeding the property’s value. Their demand is for protection before harm—not compensation after an avoidable tragedy.

The question for Timothy Edmund Walsh: where do the reasons assess the likelihood and possible severity of harm to Miss E, other occupants and the historic home, alongside the reported loss of control and the conveyance’s care obligations? What preventive safeguards were considered, and why was the final access outcome considered appropriate?

Protection need not wait for completed damage.

English law recognises preventive, or quia timet, injunctions against threatened infringements of legal rights. In Vastint Leeds BV v Persons Unknown [2018] EWHC 2456 (Ch), paragraph 31, the court explains that relief can precede completed damage and, when considering a final preventive injunction, examines the likelihood of the threatened infringement and whether the resulting harm would be so grave and irreparable that damages would be inadequate. The principle supports asking for evidenced risks to be addressed before harm occurs; its application depends on the rights, evidence and relief before the court.

Read the court-record questions →

The earlier defence already records a reported collision. PD1, page 34, alleges that a tractor conducting business with Mr Mayo struck the tree beside the house and that the tree prevented a collision with the building. Mr J now identifies the driver as neighbouring farmer Mr Folland (neighbouring farmer identified in Miss E and Mr J’s account of the tractor collision), whom he associates with Tarka Springs, and says the visit concerned collecting a basket for carrying forestry logs from Mr Mayo. Those identification and equipment details are his account. Photo, earlier allegation and current account →

Mr J places this tree approximately five metres from the house. In Miss E’s trial account, relayed to Mr J, Mr Folland said he lost control of his tractor and had to swerve into the tree to avoid hitting the house. The five-metre distance concerns the tree; the approximate two-foot clearance above concerns the route beside the historic home.

The family’s point is concrete: in their account, control had already been lost beside an occupied home. They say their complaint sought protection for Miss E, her pets and the building against a recurrence—not the suppression of ordinary access.

Long exposed scar on a tree trunk in the photograph relied upon by the family for the reported tractor collision.
The tree beside the houseThe unmarked original corresponding to PD1, page 34. Mr J places this tree approximately five metres from the house. Miss E’s trial account describes evidence of a swerve to avoid the building. The image records the attributed impact scar; its metadata dates the photograph to 3 August 2024.
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The family’s later working rebuttal records a dispute over the extent of the photographed damage; Miss E denies altering or enlarging it. The contemporary photographs, incident account and hearing evidence are therefore central to checking what happened.

What was the tractor carrying or collecting, for whose work, and what was done to protect the house after the reported strike? The photographed machinery and timber, together with Mr J’s account of the log-carrying equipment, raise a specific question about the journey’s purpose. The answer belongs in the access record. Questions to Mr Folland and Mr Mayo →

The duty in the conveyance—and the earlier undertaking.

Clause 2(ii) of the 1987 conveyance, referred to by the family as clause 2.2, requires the purchasers and their successors:

“to exercise with due care and skill the rights and liberties hereby granted and avoid as far as possible causing any damage injury nuisance or disturbance whatsoever in the exercise of such rights and liberties.”

This is the wording the family relies upon when asking how the route could be used without exposing the neighbouring home to harm. Read the deed reference →

Mr J also recalls Offen recognising a problem with the way the route was being used at the earlier hearing. The written interim order records Mr Mayo’s undertaking to use the driveway for residential purposes, excluding agricultural vehicles while allowing commercial vehicles for domestic purposes, such as oil deliveries. It also preserves a hooked-chain arrangement. Read the interim order reference →

What explains the move from that interim restriction to the later general vehicular right, and where were the collision evidence and clause 2(ii) addressed? The family asks for the reasoning connecting the evidence, the deed and the outcome. Why this matters to the judgment challenge →

What work was taking place?

Miss E and Mr J say this was more than occasional domestic tree maintenance. They allege substantial felling, timber movement and heavy-vehicle use, with noise, damage and safety consequences for their home. Mr J says the concrete surfacing was laid to facilitate those operations and that the previous owners did not consent. The work records, dates, routes and consent are among the specific matters the questions below ask Mr Mayo to identify.

The supplied aerial sequence begins in 2017, continues through 2019 and 2021, and ends in May 2025. It shows the changing appearance of the land; the licence history and dated operations record are needed to establish which cutting was authorised or exempt. The licence question →

02 / On the ground

A denial of commercial felling.
The machinery and timber photographed.

The earlier Primary Defence document includes machinery and driveway photographs. The August 2026 court email again attached photographs of an excavator, its bucket and the working area. These images sit alongside the family’s allegation about the nature and scale of the activity. The earlier defence photographs →

Excavator marked Poclain 60 beside a cleared working area, tank, materials and covered equipment.
Excavator and working areaPhotograph supplied with the August 2026 email. Original file IMG_5497 records 2 August 2024 in its capture metadata.
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Large detached excavator bucket photographed beside a boot, with machinery behind it.
The excavator bucketOriginal file IMG_5518 records 3 August 2024 in its capture metadata. A boot appears beside the bucket for scale.
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Large cut logs partly covered by sheeting, with timber and bark on the ground.
The cut timberOriginal file IMG_5567 records 5 August 2024 in its capture metadata.
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Excavator, stacked wood, lengths of timber and a cleared working area beside standing trees.
Machinery and stacked woodOriginal file IMG_5569 records 5 August 2024 in its capture metadata.
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The family asks why this material was not reconciled with the description of the operations given to the court. Which machines were used, for which work, and over which access route?

03 / From complaint to proposed court evidence

Follow the emails.

“I cannot see any current felling licence”.

David Dyball’s reply is dated 6 August 2024 at 16:06. He reports the concern to the local Woodland Officer “to look into what is happening and take any action required”. Read his reply below.

David Dyball — Operations Admin Officer, Forestry Commission England, Operational Delivery Team, Kennford, Exeter, in his August 2024 reply · Dated Forestry Commission reply

David Dyball’s email reply dated 6 August 2024 at 16:06:39: he cannot see any current felling licence and has referred the matter to the local Woodland Officer. Recipient names and contact details are covered.
David Dyball’s reply · 6 August 2024, 16:06SRA exhibit bundle, printed page 27 (PDF page 17). Recipient names and contact details are covered; the substantive email wording is retained.
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  1. Mr J reports suspected unlawful felling and supplies location material and aerial images. David Dyball of the Forestry Commission replies: “I cannot see any current felling licence”. He refers the concern to the local Woodland Officer. Source: the Dyball exchange

  2. After the visit, Mr Mayo asks Henry Bexley for an email confirming no illegal or commercial timber activity. He specifically asks that it say the chain “appeared locked at first glance”.

  3. Mr Bexley sends typed visit notes for Mr Mayo to confirm. He expressly allows the notes to be shown “in evidence for any reason”. Repeating the account that access had been blocked, he writes: “This appeared to be the case on arrival with a padlocked chain across his driveway.”

  4. Mr Mayo says he will discuss the email with his solicitor: “We may decide to forward to the judge”. He also asks to share it with Torridge District Council regarding an equipment shed and a new entrance across the field.

  5. After the message proposing court and planning use, Mr Bexley replies: “Hello Mark, that’s fine, these are my site visit report notes”. He says they also assist the licence application and advises no further felling until the licence is received. Mr Mayo agrees not to fell on 10 August. Source: the four-page correspondence

Read their correspondence.

This page displays Mr Mayo’s later reply above Mr Bexley’s earlier notes. Read the timestamps: the notes were sent at 17:54; the explicit proposal to discuss court use with the solicitor followed at 19:29. The complete four-page chain is linked below.

Page 2 of the supplied Bexley–Mayo email chain: Agreement, possible court use and the request for confirmation. Contact details are covered; the email wording is retained.
Page 2 of 4 · Agreement, possible court use and the request for confirmationMayo discusses his solicitor, possible use before the judge and sharing with Torridge. Below, Bexley asks him to confirm agreement with the visit notes. Those notes continue on page 3.
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Page image from the supplied “Felling Licence” correspondence. Contact email, telephone and office-address details are covered in these publication copies; names, dates and email wording are retained.

Read all four email pages in original order →

Public inspection. Professional independence.

The Civil Service Code requires accurate records, evidence-based advice and fair treatment; it prohibits unjustified favouritism and misuse of official position to advance private interests. These are the standards against which the Forestry Commission is asked to explain the wording, checks and handling of the proposed court use.

For the solicitor, the SRA Code addresses misleading presentation, including omissions (1.4), evidence misuse (2.1), improper influence on its substance (2.2), and properly arguable assertions (2.4). Official material may be used in litigation; the issue is whether it was obtained and presented accurately, without turning an untested impression into proof of obstruction. Read the linked question for SRA assessment →

Mr Bexley’s notes say he found no fresh stumps or sawdust and did not suspect commercial firewood selling, based on the quantities and woodland size. They record old timber, recent disturbance by a minidigger and an approximately 1.2-metre path. He describes the woodland as about 90% ash, with approximately 70% of that ash showing moderate-to-severe dieback, and the pending application as regeneration felling. Several historical statements are expressly attributed to Mr Mayo. The family challenges that assessment against the imagery, machinery and use of the route. Read the scope of the recorded assessment →

04 / The access allegation

A padlock on a chain — or a locked barrier?

Miss E and Mr J say the chain was resting on an open hook and could be lifted off. They say that was the arrangement during Mr Bexley’s visit. The photograph below shows the configuration they rely on.

Close view of a metal chain resting on an open hook, with a padlock attached to chain links.
The chain and the hookFamily exhibit X4. The photograph shows a chain over a hook, with a padlock attached to its links. Its date at the visit is the family’s account.
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The exhibited interim order in related claim L00BP144 records undertakings concerning gates and an unlocked, hooked chain. Its heading is dated 13 August 2024 and its body specifies performance by 20:00 on 7 August. That chronology and the record of the 9 August visit are material. Source: the interim order and photograph

Did anyone test whether the chain prevented access, or was its appearance allowed to stand for that conclusion?

05 / Why this belongs in the right-of-way case

The trees and the track are connected.

The family’s case is that timber and machinery travelled over the right of way beside their home before the later switch to field access. Mr J links that change to the family’s objections to heavy vehicles and the earlier residential-use undertaking. He points to the 2025 field tracks as part of that chronology. The burden of the earlier movements must be considered alongside the 1987 conveyance’s provisions about care, damage, maintenance and fencing. Compare the images and the reported route change →

The March 2025 amended defence quotes planning application 1/0638/2024/AGR as describing the existing access as “not suitable for heavy / long loads as narrow, very steep & winding”. Mr J asks how that description can be reconciled with the actual use of the route and the position advanced in court. Source: the quotation in the amended defence, paragraph 59

Mr J also links the concrete surfacing to the alleged expansion of forestry activity. When was it laid, for what loads, with whose consent, and what evidence explains the relationship between the work and the movement of timber?

Follow the existing driveway and land-consent reporting →

Named responsibility · public offices

Who will answer for the official record?

The family alleges that an official visit was turned into misleading litigation evidence. The Forestry Commission is asked to examine the original messages, the checks made and the account that reached the court.

Official locations: the South West area office is at Bullers Hill, Kennford, Exeter EX6 7XR; the Chief Executive’s correspondence office is at 620 Bristol Business Park, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1EJ. Official office directory · Chief Executive and complaint route.

Leadership details checked 19 September 2026. The executive questions seek present oversight of the 2024 events. Which rules applied? · Who will conduct the review?

The alleged practical consequence

A disputed account. An injunction against Miss E.

Miss E and Mr J allege that the apparent-locking account was knowingly used to portray her as obstructing access, although the chain was liftable from its hook. They say this manufactured narrative helped obtain a further injunction and costs against her.

The defendant’s October 2025 rebuttal identifies a further injunction before Gibbs and costs exceeding £3,000 (page 6, section 5). The strike-out script requests review of the injunction, disclosure of the Bexley communications and written reasons if those requests were refused (pages 15–16). Read the submission references →

Mr J says these matters were raised before Paul Mitchell (Designated Civil Judge for Cornwall, Devon and Dorset; Exeter Combined Court Centre) at the strike-out stage without Mr Mayo being required to answer the specific alleged manipulation. Miss E’s account of the trial before Timothy Edmund Walsh, relayed to Mr J, is that the allegation was again raised without such questioning. What happened to the request to test the report, obtain the communications and review the order? The question seeks the hearing passage, application, ruling and reasons—not a general assurance that the case was heard.

The order chronology matters: the 9–10 August correspondence came after the earlier 7 August arrangement before Offen. The rebuttal identifies a later injunction; the exact order and evidential basis are requested below. Questions to Luke Cornwell and Seldons · Questions concerning Mitchell and Walsh

The challenge was particularised.

The corrected October 2025 strike-out submissions allege that the forestry correspondence was used to create a false obstruction narrative, seek an injunction and obtain costs. Annex E, updated 6 February 2026, repeats the allegation of deliberate coordination involving Mr Mayo, Mr Cornwell and Mr Bexley. Source passages and dates →

The supplied correspondence bears a header showing Luke Cornwell of Seldons forwarding the chain to himself on 8 November 2024. The questions are which version was filed, how it was presented and how the contrary chain and machinery evidence was addressed.

Where was the photographic challenge answered?

The reported one-tree account, denial of commercial felling and Miss E’s contempt allegation are set beside the photographs above. In Miss E’s trial account, relayed to Mr J, Mr Mayo gave no substantive answer to her challenge and Timothy Edmund Walsh did not pursue it with further questions.

Mr J’s statement dated 18 August 2026, sent to the courts on 19 August, also challenges the one-tree account and the judgment’s treatment of the scale of felling. He says he personally attended delivery of the judgment and challenges the conclusion he heard that tree cutting had not occurred on the scale alleged. The question is precise: which tree and which period did the sworn account concern, and where did the court reconcile it with the photographic record? Statement and hearing-account source note →

Why the family alleges bias.

Timothy Edmund Walsh: the named questions, evidence and judicial identity →

Miss E and Mr J allege that Walsh was biased in the claimant’s favour and colluded with him. They connect that allegation to what they describe as the failure to reconcile the one-tree account with the photographic evidence, the reported loss of control beside the house, the protections they claim under clause 2(ii), and the earlier interim restriction on agricultural vehicles.

Their allegation is that minimising the operations also minimised the reason for the traffic and the danger they had complained of. Mr J says the final outcome left Miss E without effective protection against those risks. The challenge is therefore not simply how many trees were cut: it is whether an inadequate account of the activity displaced a material complaint about how the right of way was being used.

Where do the reasons address the driver’s reported admission, the risk to occupants if the only exit were blocked, and the precautions against a recurrence? How does the conveyance’s duty of care operate alongside the access declared? Read the court-record question →

Mr J says he personally presented these documents before Paul Mitchell. Miss E’s account of the later trial before Walsh is that the material was treated as though it did not exist. The family alleges that the evidence was not meaningfully examined—not that it had never been delivered.

The July 2026 order declares a general right of way serving Higher Barley Hayes, including vehicles reasonably accommodated by the roadway. It also records actionable nuisance concerning the locked/second gate and dismisses the counterclaim. Those later gate findings must be distinguished from the disputed condition of the hook-and-chain arrangement during the August 2024 visit. The family challenges the outcome and the treatment of the evidence leading to it. Their question is exact: where do the reasons reconcile the cutting account, the photographs and the use of the route?

Mr J confirms that every attachment reached the court: the family printed the full material and also sent it via WeTransfer. His challenge concerns how that evidence was addressed. Which images and exhibits were before the court at each hearing, when were they received, and where do the reasons explain their treatment? Statement, delivery clarification and later order

The questions by party

Identify the work.
Produce the record.

Publication questions prepared 19 September 2026 · not yet sent

FOR-01 · Henry Bexley / Forestry Commission

Was the chain actually locked?

On 9 August 2024, did Henry Bexley try to lift or open the chain? Produce the contemporaneous notes and photographs showing whether it physically prevented access, and explain the difference between its appearance and any check actually performed.

Why it matters: An impression of obstruction can affect court proceedings. The physical check and its record are central to the family’s challenge.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-02 · Henry Bexley / Forestry Commission

Why was the subject of the complaint asked to confirm the notes?

Why did notes from a visit to check alleged felling and discuss a licence include Mr Mayo’s private access dispute? What independently supported the blocked-access account and his requested chain wording? Identify the original notes, any revisions and checks against the complainant’s evidence. Why seek Mr Mayo’s agreement, permit evidential use at 17:54 and reply “that’s fine” at 19:38 after his court-and-planning proposal? Explain what that reply authorised, the limits on use and how accuracy, objectivity and impartiality were protected.

Why it matters: An official account must distinguish the officer’s observations from the investigated person’s account. Readers need to see who supplied, checked and changed each material statement.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-03 · Henry Bexley / Forestry Commission

Which felling did the inspection assess?

Identify the land, cutting periods, timber volumes, machinery and historic imagery assessed. Supply the decision and plan for application 018/2760/2024, any exemption relied upon for earlier work, and the evidence addressing the family’s photographs and complaint.

Why it matters: The response must address the particular work reported, not leave uncertainty about which area and period were examined.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-04 · Mark John Mayo

Why request the chain wording for possible court use?

Why did you ask a woodland officer checking alleged felling to include that the chain appeared locked at first glance? What evidence shows it was locked rather than resting on an open hook? At 19:29 you proposed discussing court use with your solicitor: what proposition did you intend the notes to prove, and how was the difference between appearance and verified obstruction explained?

Why it matters: The requested wording should be traceable to what happened at the visit.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-05 · Mark John Mayo

One tree: which tree, which period—and what explains the images?

Miss E’s account is that, during her cross-examination of you, you stated under oath that you cut only one tree and denied commercial felling. Mr J says she recorded the answers in contemporaneous notes and subsequently challenged them in writing. Identify the exact statements, the tree, land and period they concerned. What operations and purpose were covered by the denial of commercial felling? How does that account fit the 2019–2025 imagery, the photographed cut timber and machinery, and the cutting described in the inspection notes? Give a dated schedule of the work, who carried it out, the quantities removed and the licence or exemption relied upon. Mr J says timber and machinery used the driveway before later field access: identify the dates, loads and vehicle records that confirm or dispute that sequence, including when the field routes came into use.

Why it matters: The family alleges that understating the operations discredited a genuine safety complaint. The scale, purpose, vehicle movements and route matter to the protection sought for Miss E and her vulnerable Grade II-listed historic home.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-06 · Luke Cornwell / Seldons LLP

How was the officer’s impression presented to the court?

Identify the exact Bexley correspondence filed, its exhibit reference, hearing and the proposition it was used to prove. The defendant’s rebuttal alleges reliance before Gibbs to obtain a further injunction and costs exceeding £3,000: identify that application, dated order, costs decision and the submissions linking the notes to the relief sought. Did the court receive Mr Mayo’s wording request, the request for his agreement, the 19:29 court-use proposal and the 19:38 reply? Was an impression of a locked chain presented as verified obstruction or as a finding about lawful access? Identify the checks, qualifications and response to the hooked-chain evidence. Once the family alleged a contrived obstruction account, what did you investigate, correct or place before the court? Explain how the presentation complied with SRA Code 1.4 and 2.1–2.4.

Why it matters: The filed wording and the use made of it allow the alleged misrepresentation to be tested.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-07 · Luke Cornwell / Seldons LLP

Where is the response to the chain and machinery challenge?

Identify the substantive response to the family’s photographs, the hooked-chain account and the forestry particulars in the strike-out submissions and Annex E. Preserve the original messages and identify any changes between the received chain, the 8 November 2024 self-forward and the filed exhibit.

Why it matters: The record must show how a specific evidential challenge was answered and which document version the court received.

Source record · Related passage

Walsh’s identity, the family’s allegation and complete question pack →

FOR-08 · Paul Mitchell · court record / Timothy Edmund Walsh · court record

Where did the court reconcile the photographs, the collision and the access outcome?

Mr J says he presented the material before Paul Mitchell. Miss E’s account of the later trial before Timothy Edmund Walsh, relayed to Mr J, is that it was not meaningfully addressed. Where do the hearing record and reasons compare Mr Mayo’s reported one-tree account and denial of commercial felling with the dated images and machinery photographs? Mr J says he personally attended delivery of the judgment and heard Walsh conclude that felling had not occurred on the scale alleged: what evidence supported that conclusion, and how was the photographic contrast addressed? For the trial and final judgment, where is Mr Folland’s reported evidence of losing control and swerving into a tree about five metres from the house addressed? Explain the treatment of clause 2(ii) of the 1987 conveyance and the earlier interim undertaking excluding agricultural vehicles. What reasons explain the later access outcome and the response to the risk of a recurrence? Where were the likelihood and possible severity of harm assessed, including a vehicle strike or falling material blocking the home’s only exit? What preventive safeguards were considered, and why was the final access outcome considered appropriate?

Why it matters: The family says that minimising the operations displaced a material safety complaint. The evidence, the care obligations and the reasoning about vehicle use must be examined together.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-09 · Mark John Mayo

When did field access replace the driveway—and what had already passed beside the home?

Mr J says timber and machinery used the right of way before the later change to field access, following the family’s objections to heavy vehicles. He points to field tracks in the May 2025 image and links the change to the residential-use undertaking recorded before Offen. Identify when that change occurred, which vehicles and loads used the driveway beforehand, and the dated records that confirm or dispute his account. How did those movements relate to the interim undertaking excluding agricultural vehicles while permitting commercial vehicles for domestic purposes? The family’s March 2025 defence quotes application 1/0638/2024/AGR as describing the existing access as unsuitable for heavy or long loads. Identify the original wording, the loads contemplated, and when and why concrete was laid. What precautions followed the reported tractor collision, and how do you say the use complied with the due-care and damage-avoidance wording in clause 2(ii) of the 1987 conveyance? Identify the landowner consent and maintenance arrangements relied upon.

Why it matters: The application, work records, collision evidence and conveyance should be addressed together when explaining the burden and safety of the traffic beside Miss E’s home.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-10 · Mr Folland / Mark John Mayo

Did the tractor strike prevent a collision with the house?

Mr J identifies Mr Folland as the driver and places the tree approximately five metres from the house. Miss E’s account of the trial, relayed to Mr J, is that Mr Folland said he lost control and swerved into the tree to avoid the house. Is that an accurate account of the incident and testimony? Identify the hearing passage, date, vehicle, equipment, load and purpose of the journey. Mr J says the visit concerned a basket for forestry logs from Mr Mayo. What contemporary records explain the loss of control, damage and precautions taken afterwards?

Why it matters: The family says this was an actual loss-of-control event beside an occupied home. Its cause, the driver’s testimony and the response to the risk of repetition are material to how the route was being used.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-11 · Richard Stanford CB, MBE / Anna Brown / Forestry Commission

Which rules governed the officer—and were they followed?

Richard Stanford and Anna Brown: identify the staff-conduct, case-record, inspection, evidence-sharing and supervision rules in force on 9–10 August 2024, with their effective dates and relevant provisions. Was this visit a complaint investigation, a licensing visit, or both? Did those rules permit the subject of the complaint to confirm the notes and obtain wording about a private access dispute for possible court use? Who supervised or authorised that handling? Explain, against the actual correspondence, whether Henry Bexley met the applicable requirements for accuracy, objectivity, impartiality and authorised use of official information.

Why it matters: Public authority lends weight to a document. The Commission should be able to identify the standard, the checks and the responsible decision-maker behind its own officer’s account.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-12 · Richard Stanford CB, MBE / Anna Brown / Forestry Commission

Will you commission a review independent of the disputed handling?

Will you appoint a reviewer not involved in the visit or subsequent handling, preserve the original emails, headers, notes, photographs and revisions, and compare them with the court exhibit? Identify who will test the physical chain evidence, the requested wording, the court-use proposal and the response to the complainant’s photographs. Provide the reviewer’s remit, a case reference, the findings on each allegation and any correction or remedial action. If a review is declined, identify the decision-maker, reasons and applicable route for challenge.

Why it matters: The family alleges that the handling affected an injunction and costs against Miss E. A reasoned review must trace the official account through to its practical use, not simply repeat the disputed notes.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-13 · Paul Mitchell · court record / Timothy Edmund Walsh · court record

What happened to the request to test the report and review the injunction?

For Paul Mitchell’s strike-out hearing: where were the Bexley allegation, hooked-chain evidence, request for the complete communications and request to review the injunction determined? Was Mr Mayo required to answer the particular allegation that an apparent-locking account was manufactured for court use? If the issue was deferred, identify the direction and how it was preserved for trial. For Timothy Edmund Walsh’s trial: where were those outstanding points tested and resolved, and what findings addressed their alleged effect on the injunction, costs and portrayal of Miss E? Mr J says Mitchell did not put the specific manipulation allegation to Mr Mayo at the earlier hearing; Miss E’s account of the trial, relayed to Mr J, is that Walsh did not do so either. Identify the hearing passages, evidence and reasons that address that account.

Why it matters: A challenge alleging that misleading official material produced a court order requires a traceable procedural outcome. The family asks what was decided, on what evidence, and why—not merely whether a hearing took place.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-14 · David Dyball / Forestry Commission

What happened after the felling complaint was referred?

Your 6 August 2024 email says you could not see a current felling licence, had referred the matter to the local Woodland Officer and would provide an update after review. Identify the referral date, case reference, records and imagery passed on, who received them, and the inspection or review outcome. When and how was the promised update communicated? If the work was treated as licensed or exempt, provide the decision, relevant land and dates, and the records supporting it.

Why it matters: The original complaint and referral should lead to an identifiable review and answer. This question seeks the administrative trail connecting the family’s report to the officer’s visit.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-15 · Luke Cornwell / Seldons LLP / Jack Webb

What did each representative know—and how was the photographic challenge answered?

Mr J says the photographs were supplied long before trial and presented at the strike-out hearing. Miss E’s trial account, relayed to him, is that the one-tree account and denial of commercial felling were advanced while her safety concerns were discredited. Mr J says the solicitors have not disputed that Mr Mayo made the statement. Do you dispute Miss E’s account of the words used during her cross-examination, which she says she recorded contemporaneously? Identify the hearing record supporting your position. For each representative, identify the hearings attended, the dated images and forestry allegations received, when they were received and which were reviewed. What account of the scale, purpose and traffic did you advance, and in which submissions or exhibits? What instructions and records supported that account? How did you address the apparent photographic contradiction, the reported tractor collision, the only-exit concern and the conveyance’s care obligations? If you became aware of a material inaccuracy, what correction or clarification did you place before the court, and when?

Why it matters: The family alleges that a false account displaced a genuine safety complaint. The answer must identify each representative’s knowledge and actions: what was known, what was said, and what the court was asked to do about the risk.

Source record · Related passage

FOR-16 · Luke Cornwell / Seldons LLP

Answer the risk—not just the person raising it.

What evidence answered the family’s safety concerns about heavy vehicles beside Miss E’s vulnerable Grade II-listed historic home, the reported tractor collision, the only-exit risk and the conveyance’s care obligations? Identify the exhibits, dated submissions and passages where you addressed them. If her concerns were characterised as exaggerated or obstructive, identify the words used and their evidential and legal basis. What steps avoided unfair advantage of a vulnerable or unrepresented opponent and ensured an accurate account reached the court? Explain compliance with individual Code 1.2, 1.4 and 2.4 for Cornwell, and Firms Code 1.2, 1.4 and 7.1(a) for Seldons. How did you apply the disputes guidance and protect duties to the administration of justice where those duties conflicted with your client’s interests? Identify any correction made, and when.

Why it matters: The family alleges that attacks on credibility displaced examination of danger. The professional-accountability question is whether the safety evidence was fairly and accurately addressed, with a proper basis for the assertions advanced—not merely whether the client obtained the outcome sought.

Source record · Related passage

The record behind this article

Photographs, correspondence, the early defence, the strike-out particulars, Annex E and the post-judgment statement are indexed together with page references.

Open the complete source index → · Back to the Annex E allegations →

Have a record that answers these questions?

Send the question number, your response and supporting documents to theunansweredrecord@gmail.com. Responses and further evidence will be examined and the reporting updated.

The reporting record

What changed in this article.

  1. Professional accountability

    Answer the risk—not just the person raising it.

    The forestry investigation now connects the family’s safety complaint to the SRA rules on unfair advantage, misleading presentation, properly arguable assertions and vulnerable opponents. FOR-16 asks Cornwell and Seldons for the evidence, submissions and steps addressing those duties, with a linked proposed regulatory assessment.

    Read the accountability section
  2. Route chronology clarified

    The driveway first. The field tracks later.

    Mr J’s account of the earlier driveway traffic is now placed beside the aerial sequence and linked to the family’s objections and the interim residential-use undertaking. The questions focus on when field access replaced those movements, the vehicles and loads involved, and the records addressing that chronology.

    Read the route-change account
  3. Attribution corrected

    Who heard the testimony—and who heard the judgment

    Miss E’s account concerns her cross-examination of Mr Mayo and the contemporaneous notes described by Mr J. Mr J personally heard delivery of the judgment. The article distinguishes those sources and records his account of the later written challenge and the solicitors’ reported lack of denial that the statement was made.

    Read the corrected attribution
  4. Materiality & representation

    Why the alleged false account matters to Miss E’s safety

    The photographic comparison now explains the family’s allegation that understating the operations discredited a genuine safety complaint. New linked questions ask Luke Cornwell, Seldons LLP and Jack Webb which images they received, what account they advanced and how they addressed the risks beside the historic home.

    Read why the alleged contradiction matters
  5. Evidence comparison

    Only one tree? Explain the photographic record.

    The reported sworn account and denial of commercial felling now sit beside the dated aerial images, with Miss E’s contempt allegation and direct questions about Walsh’s treatment of the photographic evidence. The machinery photographs carry the linked challenge about the work and timber movements.

    Compare the account with the photographs
  6. Named oversight and court-record questions

    Who will answer for the official record?

    Richard Stanford and Anna Brown are named for Forestry Commission oversight, with a referral question for David Dyball. Expanded questions to Seldons and the court record address the alleged later injunction, the requested disclosure and the handling by Mitchell and Walsh.

    Read the named oversight questions
  7. Correspondence and standards

    A forestry inspection. A proposed court exhibit.

    The email sequence now includes the officer’s express allowance for evidential use and his 19:38 reply after the court-use proposal. Questions about independent checks and accurate court presentation are linked to Civil Service and SRA standards.

    Read the inspection-to-litigation sequence
  8. Safety argument and legal context

    Who lives with the consequences?

    The family’s concern for Miss E’s life, her pets and the historic home is now set alongside the law on preventive injunctions. The court-record questions ask where the likelihood and severity of harm, and protective safeguards, were addressed.

    Read the prevention argument
  9. Safety concern clarified

    Why the single exit matters

    Mr J’s concern about occupants being trapped if a vehicle strike blocked the only exit is now explained alongside the reported tractor incident. The court-record question asks where that risk and preventive precautions were addressed.

    Read the single-exit safety concern
  10. Evidence and hearing account

    The collision, the conveyance and the judgment challenge

    Mr J’s account of the tree’s five-metre distance and Mr Folland’s reported loss-of-control testimony is now connected to the exact deed wording, the earlier interim undertaking and the family’s allegation of judicial bias. The linked questions ask how those matters were addressed in the access outcome.

    Read the safety and judgment connection
  11. Source image added

    David Dyball’s licence reply—now visible

    Read the dated Forestry Commission reply: “I cannot see any current felling licence”, followed by the referral to the local Woodland Officer. The email page is reproduced at full size with recipient names and contact details covered.

    Read Dyball’s reply
  12. Source images added

    Read the Bexley–Mayo emails

    The correspondence discussion now displays the page containing the request to confirm the visit notes and the proposed court use. All four supplied pages can be read in full in the linked source record, with contact details covered.

    See the email pages
  13. Expanded investigation

    The house beside the route—and the one-tree account

    The tree-strike photograph and earlier defence are now linked to Mr J’s safety concerns, his account of the court challenge and ten questions about the operations, inspection notes and evidence. Mr Folland is included in the question register.

    Read the expanded investigation
  14. Contributor clarification

    Forestry attachments: delivery to the court clarified

    Mr J confirms that every attachment reached the court, with the material printed and also sent via WeTransfer. The article and source note now record this clarification; the questions concern how the court addressed the evidence.

    Read the clarification
  15. Illustrated investigation

    The trees, the track and the photographic record

    Four dated aerial images and machinery, timber and chain photographs accompany the family’s forestry allegations, the Bexley correspondence and nine precise questions about the right-of-way proceedings.

    Read the illustrated investigation

Substantive additions and corrections will be recorded here. The full case can be followed through Latest developments.

The record must account for the images.
Not leave them out of the story.

The next step is to follow the evidence into the hearing: the exact exhibit, the use made of it and the reasons given.

Editorial disclosure

New strand · Police and Council powers

A five-year notice. Where was her evidence heard?

The Mayo–Ithildîn emails, the police–Council meeting and Miss E’s challenge to the evidence used against her. Follow twelve questions to the named officers, Council, claimant, solicitors and court-file administration.

Read the emails → · Who must answer? →

New / The video record

Life beside the right of way.
Watch the record.

21 recordings, in camera-date order: the entrance checks, the rubbish sequence, the night-time activity and the tractor passage—alongside Miss E’s account of the impact.

Watch the recordings ↗

Editorial revision: .