I WAS listening to a radio programme when a lady called in to say she’d seen a bizarre sign by a footpath that led into woodland that said: “Please shut this gate after you. Failure to do so will result in the facility being removed.”

Now David Cameron has effectively closed the gate on his own bizarre plan to privatise England’s public forests. The gent is clearly for U-turning on this issue that touched a raw nerve with the normally docile English. And what was remarkable was that the protests that forced the prime minister’s hand were all carried out in a splendidly English way.

There weren’t riots or large-scale city marches. Just a growing public anger that manifested itself in petitions, letters and emails to politicians, as well as groups formed to protect their local woodland. And Cameron found himself lost on the prickly track.

To me, being willing to admit you were wrong is a strength, not weakness, but in political circles it will be intriguing to see how this turning back on the woodland path is perceived. Cameron got it right by ditching his barking plan to sell our woodland that threatened both public access and wildlife.

But he’s still sticking to to his Big Society idea of recruiting volunteers even though that, too, hasn’t caught the public’s imagination.

You know what the fellow said who had walked into a recruitment agency and was asked if he’d thought about voluntary work?

“Voluntary work? I wouldn’t do that if you paid me.”