Ashurst Wood - P.R.A.W.N.S.

P.R.A.W.N.S.

To celebrate the millennium, in January 2000 some residents of Ashurst Wood unofficially declared independence from the United Kingdom. The new state was known as The People's Republic of Ashurst Wood, a Nation State, which gave the acronym P.R.A.W.N.S.. This was reported in the local and national media, notably by the radio DJ Chris Moyles during his show on BBC Radio 1.

The "revolution" was said to be justified because of a ruling by King Ethelred in the year 979, specifying that the village of Ashurst would be immune from taxation after he fell ill there.