DUE to popular demand, Herefordshire Council is to organise a series of open afternoons' for the public to view the newly unearthed Rotherwas Ribbon - a Bronze Age surface of cracked stones discovered as a result of the construction of the Rotherwas relief road in Hereford.

The council has arranged for small groups of people, by prior arrangement, to see the Ribbon on Saturday, July 7, but asks that people without tickets should not turn up as they will not be able to see the site. There will be several further opportunities to have an escorted viewing but too many people on the site would put at risk this fragile find.

The council will take bookings via a hotline number to be set up and announced next week.

As the importance of the discovery became clear the council alerted English Heritage to ensure that the guidance being followed was fully endorsed in all respects.

"English Heritage specialists concur with us that the find is extremely fragile and should not be moved," said county archaeologist Keith Ray.

Members of staff from English Heritage are due to visit the site to discuss the proposed preservation methods and what further work might be carried out beyond the road corridor to further define its extent and its significance.

"In many ways we're lucky to discover this before the bulldozers moved in - it was not far below the surface and had we not uncovered it as part of the archaeological work associated with the new access road, the strong possibility is that at least part of it might have been destroyed through ongoing farming practices.

"We're looking forward to meeting English Heritage again on Monday next week and will continue to work with its staff to ensure the find is preserved not just for this generation, but for generations to come."